The Punishment of the Stingy, and Other Indian Stories

by George Bird Grinnell

He stayed a long time with his elder sister. One day she said to him: “Why do you not do as they do? Go fishing with them, with your dip-net.” He said, “I will do so.” When it got dark he made ready to go, and a boy also made ready. His sister said: “This is your brother-in-law’s relation. You two had better go together. Do not speak much to him. Keep silent.”

They put their canoe in the water and started, and as they were paddling down the river they saw ahead of them some people, also going down the river in a canoe and singing. When they had almost overtaken them Bluejay began to sing too, joining in their song, and at once the people were silent. He looked back at the boy in the stern of the canoe, but now there was no boy there, only a pile of [[38]]bones. The noise Bluejay made caused the boy to disappear, and only bones were left. Now, as they floated down the stream, Bluejay sat silent, and was wondering what all this meant, and pretty soon when he looked back at the stern of the canoe the boy was sitting there again. Bluejay said to him, speaking slowly and in a low voice, “Where is your fishing-fence?” The boy answered, “It is beyond here, down the stream.” They went on farther; then Bluejay said out loud and suddenly, “Where is your fishing-fence?” Only bones were in the stern of the canoe. Again Bluejay was silent, and when he next looked back the boy was again in the canoe. Bluejay again spoke to him in low tones, and said, “Where is your fishing-fence?” The boy answered, “Here.”

“THERE WAS NO BOY THERE, ONLY A PILE OF BONES”

Now they began to fish, Bluejay using the dip-net, while the boy held the canoe. Soon Bluejay felt something in his net and raised it, but only two dead branches were in it. He threw them out, and again put his net into the water. Again he felt something in it and raised it, and it was full of leaves. He threw them out, but a part of the leaves fell in the canoe, [[39]]and the boy gathered them up. Again he caught a branch and threw it out into the water; again he caught some leaves and threw them out, but a part of them fell in the canoe. The boy gathered them up. Again he caught two branches—both large ones. He was pleased with these branches, and said to himself, “I will take these back to Ioí; she can use them to build her fire.” At length they turned back and went homeward and reached the village. Bluejay was angry because he had caught nothing.

When they went up from the beach to the houses the boy was carrying a mat full of trout. After the trout were roasted and the people were eating them, the boy talked a great deal, saying: “He threw out of the canoe all that he had caught. If he had not thrown it away, our canoe would have been almost full.” His elder sister said to Bluejay, “Why did you throw away what you had caught?” “I threw away what I caught because they were branches,” said Bluejay. His sister said: “Do you think they were branches? That is our food. When you caught leaves, those were trout. When you caught branches, those were [[40]]fall salmon.” Bluejay did not believe this. He said to her: “I brought home to you two branches. You can use them to make your fire.” His sister went to the beach and found two fall salmon in the canoe. She took them up to the house and went in, carrying them in her hand. Blue jay said to her, “Where did you steal those fall salmon, Ioí?” She answered, “These are what you caught.” Bluejay said to himself, “Ioí keeps telling lies to me all the time.”

When day came Bluejay went down to the water’s edge, to the beach. There on the beach were the canoes of the ghosts. They were old and full of holes, and partly grown over with moss. He went up to the house and said to his sister, “How bad your husband’s canoes are, Ioí.” She answered, “After this keep quiet, or the people will get tired of you.” But he repeated, “The canoes of these people are full of holes.” She said to him, angrily: “People? people? They are ghosts.”

“ONLY BONES LAY THERE”

When it again grew dark Blue jay again made himself ready, and the boy got ready, and they went fishing. Now Bluejay teased that boy. As they were going along he shouted, and only [[41]]bones were in the canoe. He did this several times, but at last they reached the fishing-place, and began to fish with the dip-net. Now Bluejay took into the canoe all the branches that he caught, and all the leaves, and when the tide began to fall their canoe was full, and they started homeward. Now he began to tease the ghosts, and when they met one he shouted, and only bones were in the canoe. At last they reached home, and he carried up to his sister’s house part of what he had caught. She also carried up a part—salmon of two kinds.