Post by Okwes on Mar 28, 2007 11:58:04 GMT -5
Coyote the Interloper - Nez Perce
Coyote [itsaya' ya] and his daughter dwelt nearby. Coyote became ill. He said to his daughter, "Daughter-child, go search for bones, even bleached ones, with which to make me broth." And she went out to search for bones. It was wintertime. She would break up the bones and boil the little pieces. In this way she made broth for Coyote.
One day she happened to find a whole limb that had been gnawed clean. Wolves had eaten the flesh and left the good bones. She thought, "Poor father will eat heartily of this." Then another day she found a salmon that had been only slightly eaten. "I will make broth of this for my poor father." She said to Coyote, "I found this salmon."
But he exclaimed, "Foul [Rotten]! Daughter-child, it is winter salmon!" In truth, however, Coyote did not want any of the Otters' catch because he had no desire that his daughter should be taken in marriage by the Otters. This was the consideration which prompted him to find the salmon revolting, to lie to his daughter about winter salmon, and to command her, "Throw it away!" But Coyote liked the five Wolf brothers, and he thought, "It would be much better if she went to them." Thus he ate their leftover deer bones with much gusto.
Coyote's daughter now threw away the salmon and went out to look for food again. She came upon a great antlered buck lying completely untouched, uneaten. Oh, such meat she took home. She laid the venison out to dry. Then she went out again, and this time she found a large bunch of salmon all strung together for carrying. "Ah, such good salmon." They were large ones and not even touched. "I will take these home." She took them to Coyote and said to him, "I found these very, very good salmon. Someone had gone away and left them, and here I've brought them home."
"No, daughter-child, no! They are winter salmon and not at all good. Throw them away!" She threw them away. Coyote got well in the course of time, and the Wolves took his daughter for their wife. They took her away with them.
Now the Otters [q laszya' ya] became indignant. They said, "Let us go to set the Wolves afire; let us encircle them with fire." Thereupon they went and set fire clear around the conical lodge and burned the Wolves to death.
Then the dead Wolves began to prepare for their death departure when Coyote's daughter decided, "I must go to Coyote and have him burn all my things. Then I can go on from there to the death world." Thus she went to her fathers lodge.
Coyote heard her coming. She came along laughing loudly, and Coyote recognize her. "I wonder why daughter-child comes to me at this time of the night? She is a doer of strange things, and now she comes along laughing."
From outside she said to Coyote, "Father, we are on our way now. You will burn all of my things."
"Such valuable things, daughter-child!" Coyote replied.
"You will cause the Otters to become indignant! They set us afire, and now we are dead. Hurry, toss my things into the fire. The others are leaving me behind already. Hurry!
"No, daughter-child! What shall I do here? I shall pine, daughter-child. Do not go."
"There is no way I can remain. But you will stay here."
"No, daughter-child. Then I, too, will follow along."
"You cannot follow. You are alive."
"Let me follow along anyhow. I shall do very pitifully if I stay here. Now I, too, am going.
"Then if you must be so insistent, you will throw yourself into the fire; in that way you too, will be ready to go."
"Yes daughter-child, I will throw myself into the fire." Here Coyote flung himself into the fire There was a sudden and noisy sizzle of burning hair ["ts' ox"], and he jumped out. He tried again and again. He would hurl himself into the flames; there would be a sizzle, burning hair, and out he would jump again. Then he said to his daughter, "I can't in any manner burn myself, daughter-child. Let me go just as I am, daughter-child. I will follow along, daughter-child, alive just as I am."
"Then get yourself ready quickly. The others have left me far behind already."
Now Coyote prepared himself, and they went. He could not see the others, but he could hear their voices and, guided thereby, he followed along. Dawn came.
Coyote's daughter said to him, "It dawns for us when to you night falls, and your night is our daytime. Now night has fallen, and we are camping over. Though it is dawn to you, you are to stay right here. Do not go anywhere. Sit the day through here. When it is dusk for you, it will again be time for us to go on."
Coyote spent the whole day there. Now the shadows fell; evening came. He began to hear them as if they were talking in whispers ["tsaw, tsaw"]. It grew dark, and now he heard them clearly, talking and laughing. In the wake of their voices again he followed them They traveled in this manner. Five times they camped overnight.
Then Coyote's daughter said to him, "We have been traveling for five days. Tomorrow we shall arrive."
"Let it be so." They traveled on, and at last they arrived.
Coyote heard another coyote somewhere up front making formal announcements. [It was some coyote that had died long before.] "The Wolves arrive, five brothers; they bring Coyote's daughter with them. And Coyote, the interloper, arrives," was announced. Oh, there were many people, and Coyote could see them plainly now for the first time. He began to recognize various persons, and he enjoyed himself to the utmost. He saw various comrades who had died.
His daughter said to him, "It is getting dark now, but to you it is coming dawn. In a little while you will not see anyone or hear anyone talking. But you must remain right here throughout the day. Do not go anywhere, even a short distance, because you will get lost and never find us again. In the evening you will see us all again."
"Yes, daughter-child. Where could I go?" Now Coyote spent the day on the open prairie. In the evening he saw the people, and again he enjoyed himself. He stayed six days.
One night his daughter came to him and said, "You are to go home now. You cannot remain here indefinitely like this. Even though you are enjoying yourself, you must go home tomorrow."
"Yes, daughter-child, but I am having such a good time here. Why should I go home? I'm staying here."
"No. You will do very poorly here. You must go. You cause me to worry constantly. You must go home. I will make a lunch for you."
Even though Coyote was most unwilling to go, he replied, "Yes, I will go then."
His daughter continued, "When it has dawned for you, you will go." Now she brought for him a little package in buckskin wrapping. "You will take this with you, packed on your back. There are five mountains you must cross. Never look back of you. Do not even think, 'Let me look back from the summit.' You must go straight along and do nothing foolish. You may get tired, and you can rest. But above all you must never look behind you. You may hear things back of you, or recognize somebody by his voice. Still, you must not look behind you."
"Yes, daughter-child, thus I will do. I will heed your words."
Now she handed him the buckskin package which contained something and said, 'You may find this very heavy, but you will rest yourself. Do not look back ever."
"Yes, daughter-child. How could I find this heavy?"
In the morning he put his package on his back and started while his daughter instructed him for the last time. "You are to cross over five mountains. When you have crossed all five and have descended from the fifth, you may look behind you, but not until then."
"Yes, daughter-child." Coyote went. He walked along fast, carrying on his back the little package wrapped in buckskin. He crossed one mountain, two, and then the third. "And she said of this, 'You will get tired.'" But now on the fourth mountain he began to feel a little bit fatigued. "The pack seems to be getting heavier." He climbed, and he began to tire. He barely crossed over and descended. He felt thoroughly exhausted now as he started up the fifth mountain. He was scarcely able to walk, and he felt the pack growing very, very heavy. He continued the ascent, just barely moving along. He reached the half way point, and he looked up. The summit appeared to be very far away. He kept going, just dragging one foot after another, and slowly ascended. He was tired, completely exhausted but he saw the top of the mountain only a short distance away now. Here his strength deserted him. He would take one step, and then he would have to rest. "Daughter-child spoke the truth when she told me, 'You will find the pack heavy.' " He continued slowly as he saw the summit close by. But suddenly his pack pulled him backwards into a sitting position. He fell backwards, and, suddenly, he turned his head and looked behind him. Coyote saw the five Wolf brothers and his daughter stand up suddenly from the pack he had been carrying them all along.
His daughter said to him, "I told you, 'Do not look back until you have crossed the five mountain.' Now you have caused us to return by your having looked behind you."
"No, daughter-child. Let me pack you again. Do not return!"
"No," she said to Coyote. "The coming of the human race is only a short time away and the returning of the dead could have become an established thing. You, yourself would have brought this about had you taken us over the mountain top there. But now you have made death a permanent condition, and people will never return from death."
Now they disappeared and left Coyote there to weep. He called after them, "Then let me follow you back, and I will bring you again." No. They had left him. At this Coyote hiked off sulkily somewhere.
Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon Press; Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated between 1912 and 1949]
Coyote [itsaya' ya] and his daughter dwelt nearby. Coyote became ill. He said to his daughter, "Daughter-child, go search for bones, even bleached ones, with which to make me broth." And she went out to search for bones. It was wintertime. She would break up the bones and boil the little pieces. In this way she made broth for Coyote.
One day she happened to find a whole limb that had been gnawed clean. Wolves had eaten the flesh and left the good bones. She thought, "Poor father will eat heartily of this." Then another day she found a salmon that had been only slightly eaten. "I will make broth of this for my poor father." She said to Coyote, "I found this salmon."
But he exclaimed, "Foul [Rotten]! Daughter-child, it is winter salmon!" In truth, however, Coyote did not want any of the Otters' catch because he had no desire that his daughter should be taken in marriage by the Otters. This was the consideration which prompted him to find the salmon revolting, to lie to his daughter about winter salmon, and to command her, "Throw it away!" But Coyote liked the five Wolf brothers, and he thought, "It would be much better if she went to them." Thus he ate their leftover deer bones with much gusto.
Coyote's daughter now threw away the salmon and went out to look for food again. She came upon a great antlered buck lying completely untouched, uneaten. Oh, such meat she took home. She laid the venison out to dry. Then she went out again, and this time she found a large bunch of salmon all strung together for carrying. "Ah, such good salmon." They were large ones and not even touched. "I will take these home." She took them to Coyote and said to him, "I found these very, very good salmon. Someone had gone away and left them, and here I've brought them home."
"No, daughter-child, no! They are winter salmon and not at all good. Throw them away!" She threw them away. Coyote got well in the course of time, and the Wolves took his daughter for their wife. They took her away with them.
Now the Otters [q laszya' ya] became indignant. They said, "Let us go to set the Wolves afire; let us encircle them with fire." Thereupon they went and set fire clear around the conical lodge and burned the Wolves to death.
Then the dead Wolves began to prepare for their death departure when Coyote's daughter decided, "I must go to Coyote and have him burn all my things. Then I can go on from there to the death world." Thus she went to her fathers lodge.
Coyote heard her coming. She came along laughing loudly, and Coyote recognize her. "I wonder why daughter-child comes to me at this time of the night? She is a doer of strange things, and now she comes along laughing."
From outside she said to Coyote, "Father, we are on our way now. You will burn all of my things."
"Such valuable things, daughter-child!" Coyote replied.
"You will cause the Otters to become indignant! They set us afire, and now we are dead. Hurry, toss my things into the fire. The others are leaving me behind already. Hurry!
"No, daughter-child! What shall I do here? I shall pine, daughter-child. Do not go."
"There is no way I can remain. But you will stay here."
"No, daughter-child. Then I, too, will follow along."
"You cannot follow. You are alive."
"Let me follow along anyhow. I shall do very pitifully if I stay here. Now I, too, am going.
"Then if you must be so insistent, you will throw yourself into the fire; in that way you too, will be ready to go."
"Yes daughter-child, I will throw myself into the fire." Here Coyote flung himself into the fire There was a sudden and noisy sizzle of burning hair ["ts' ox"], and he jumped out. He tried again and again. He would hurl himself into the flames; there would be a sizzle, burning hair, and out he would jump again. Then he said to his daughter, "I can't in any manner burn myself, daughter-child. Let me go just as I am, daughter-child. I will follow along, daughter-child, alive just as I am."
"Then get yourself ready quickly. The others have left me far behind already."
Now Coyote prepared himself, and they went. He could not see the others, but he could hear their voices and, guided thereby, he followed along. Dawn came.
Coyote's daughter said to him, "It dawns for us when to you night falls, and your night is our daytime. Now night has fallen, and we are camping over. Though it is dawn to you, you are to stay right here. Do not go anywhere. Sit the day through here. When it is dusk for you, it will again be time for us to go on."
Coyote spent the whole day there. Now the shadows fell; evening came. He began to hear them as if they were talking in whispers ["tsaw, tsaw"]. It grew dark, and now he heard them clearly, talking and laughing. In the wake of their voices again he followed them They traveled in this manner. Five times they camped overnight.
Then Coyote's daughter said to him, "We have been traveling for five days. Tomorrow we shall arrive."
"Let it be so." They traveled on, and at last they arrived.
Coyote heard another coyote somewhere up front making formal announcements. [It was some coyote that had died long before.] "The Wolves arrive, five brothers; they bring Coyote's daughter with them. And Coyote, the interloper, arrives," was announced. Oh, there were many people, and Coyote could see them plainly now for the first time. He began to recognize various persons, and he enjoyed himself to the utmost. He saw various comrades who had died.
His daughter said to him, "It is getting dark now, but to you it is coming dawn. In a little while you will not see anyone or hear anyone talking. But you must remain right here throughout the day. Do not go anywhere, even a short distance, because you will get lost and never find us again. In the evening you will see us all again."
"Yes, daughter-child. Where could I go?" Now Coyote spent the day on the open prairie. In the evening he saw the people, and again he enjoyed himself. He stayed six days.
One night his daughter came to him and said, "You are to go home now. You cannot remain here indefinitely like this. Even though you are enjoying yourself, you must go home tomorrow."
"Yes, daughter-child, but I am having such a good time here. Why should I go home? I'm staying here."
"No. You will do very poorly here. You must go. You cause me to worry constantly. You must go home. I will make a lunch for you."
Even though Coyote was most unwilling to go, he replied, "Yes, I will go then."
His daughter continued, "When it has dawned for you, you will go." Now she brought for him a little package in buckskin wrapping. "You will take this with you, packed on your back. There are five mountains you must cross. Never look back of you. Do not even think, 'Let me look back from the summit.' You must go straight along and do nothing foolish. You may get tired, and you can rest. But above all you must never look behind you. You may hear things back of you, or recognize somebody by his voice. Still, you must not look behind you."
"Yes, daughter-child, thus I will do. I will heed your words."
Now she handed him the buckskin package which contained something and said, 'You may find this very heavy, but you will rest yourself. Do not look back ever."
"Yes, daughter-child. How could I find this heavy?"
In the morning he put his package on his back and started while his daughter instructed him for the last time. "You are to cross over five mountains. When you have crossed all five and have descended from the fifth, you may look behind you, but not until then."
"Yes, daughter-child." Coyote went. He walked along fast, carrying on his back the little package wrapped in buckskin. He crossed one mountain, two, and then the third. "And she said of this, 'You will get tired.'" But now on the fourth mountain he began to feel a little bit fatigued. "The pack seems to be getting heavier." He climbed, and he began to tire. He barely crossed over and descended. He felt thoroughly exhausted now as he started up the fifth mountain. He was scarcely able to walk, and he felt the pack growing very, very heavy. He continued the ascent, just barely moving along. He reached the half way point, and he looked up. The summit appeared to be very far away. He kept going, just dragging one foot after another, and slowly ascended. He was tired, completely exhausted but he saw the top of the mountain only a short distance away now. Here his strength deserted him. He would take one step, and then he would have to rest. "Daughter-child spoke the truth when she told me, 'You will find the pack heavy.' " He continued slowly as he saw the summit close by. But suddenly his pack pulled him backwards into a sitting position. He fell backwards, and, suddenly, he turned his head and looked behind him. Coyote saw the five Wolf brothers and his daughter stand up suddenly from the pack he had been carrying them all along.
His daughter said to him, "I told you, 'Do not look back until you have crossed the five mountain.' Now you have caused us to return by your having looked behind you."
"No, daughter-child. Let me pack you again. Do not return!"
"No," she said to Coyote. "The coming of the human race is only a short time away and the returning of the dead could have become an established thing. You, yourself would have brought this about had you taken us over the mountain top there. But now you have made death a permanent condition, and people will never return from death."
Now they disappeared and left Coyote there to weep. He called after them, "Then let me follow you back, and I will bring you again." No. They had left him. At this Coyote hiked off sulkily somewhere.
Taken from Tales of the Nez Perce by Donald M. Hines, Ye Galleon Press; Fairfield, Washington, 1999 [gathered from other source books dated between 1912 and 1949]