“I won’t stay here; my old grandmother is far away in the north. I will take my wife to that place.”
When old man Tsmuk came in, Góshgoise put lightning above his head, and it shot through the house and up to the sky. He did this to let his grandmother know that he was at the end of his journey. Then he gave the spear to his father-in-law to pay him for his daughter. Since that time old Tsmuk has had short lightning.
Tsmuk took hold of Góshgoise’s hand, called him son-in-law, and began to cry because he had nothing to give him. Tsmuk and his family were naked; they had no beads or blankets.
“Why do you cry?” asked his wife. (She was a powerful old woman; she could do anything.) When he told her, she said: “There is an island off in the water; my brother lives there. You can go to that island and get shells for our son-in-law. I will make you an elk-skin canoe.” She cut an elk-skin into four pieces; one piece was for the bottom of the canoe, one for the top and one for each side. “This canoe is strong,” [[181]]said she. “Don’t be afraid, and don’t think of anything bad. If a storm comes, it will go around the canoe.”
Tsmuk and his younger son got into the canoe; the old woman raised a strong wind behind it, and the canoe flew over the water. When it was going very fast, old Tsmuk thought: “What would happen if a storm came?” That minute a terrible whirlwind struck the canoe and drove it back to the shore.
Then the water was calm. The old woman felt badly; she knew Tsmuk had thought of a storm. She told him again not to think of anything, not to be afraid, then she made a strong wind behind the canoe, and that time it reached the island.
“What did you come for?” asked the brother-in-law.
“A man has come for my sister,” said Tsmuk’s son. “My father has nothing to give him.”
The uncle brought beautiful shells and beads. As he loaded them into the canoe, the canoe grew larger and larger, till Tsmuk had as many shells and beads as he wanted.
The day that Tsmuk started for the island, his daughter had a little girl. After fasting, Góshgoise wanted to go to his own home, for he was hungry. He was a great hunter, but he couldn’t hunt in Tsmuk’s country, and he couldn’t eat what the Tsmuk people ate.