Several days had elapsed since the departure of Metch-cher-us-ah-may and the people began to inquire why she returned no more to the house at night-fall. They went in search of her and found the wood baskets she had used here on earth, left on top of the high rock where she had taken her flight. Her brother then informed them that his sister had gone to Werse-on-now as he had beheld the vision himself. The parents recalling to mind the harsh words spoken of their dark suspicions concerning their saint-like daughter, wept and wailed most bitterly, and were bowed down with heavy hearts and sad regrets, that one so true could no longer stay on earth; that God should so early call the divine and true to His Eternal Home.
The brother who had loved his sister so devotedly, recalled to memory the tender devotion of her trying years of patience. Heart wrung with the strange pathetic life of his sister and the charm of its beautiful ending, he wept until his proud heart seemed broken asunder. Weeping tears of blood it seemed, from the heart that loved so much, for the gentle hand that touched his brow, the hallowed form, the low voice and cheering smile was gone forever.
After a few days, the bitter wailing of her parents and the intense grief of her brother was answered by the gentle Saint herself. Her spirit came earthward in a shadowy image, or o’quirlth, and appeared before her loved ones, soothing them with gentle words of compassion in their dark hours of grief and sad regrets, assuring them that she dwelt safely beyond the Pearly Gates of Heaven, in the infinite meadows of beauty and light. Their misgivings no longer wounded, for her spirit survived in peace and happiness and for them to weep bitterly no more. Her spirit faded from the earth, leaving her parents assured of the eternal years of her greatness, a Saint in Heaven.
Her brother, Metch-cher-us-ah-chene, could not be comforted long, as he had only known a sister’s love and tender devotion. Day by day he grieved more and more in his loneliness, a sorrow that knows no comfort when the loved one has gone to realms beyond. His grief became so great that he could not long endure it, when her spirit answered him in his loneliness once more. This time she appeared before him in her living form as she had lived on earth, and brother and sister met in sweet earthly communion for the last time as she would return to comfort them no more. She lifted that heavy veil of sorrow from his heart and gave him courage in earthly things again. She instructed him to go to a riffle on the Klamath river, opposite the old Klamath Bluffs store and fish there for twelve days, at the end of which he would catch a small fish about the size of one’s little finger, and that this fish would have many white rings encircling its body. This fish as soon as it was caught was to be put in an elk-horn Indian purse, which is beautifully carved out of the elk’s horn and polished smooth on the internal and external surfaces. They sometimes carve and color very artistic designs upon them, cutting out a small oblong lid in the middle of the purse which they fit on it after putting the money in and wrap the lid on securely with a strip of buck-skin.
Metch-cher-us-ah-chene fished on the riffle for twelve days as directed by his sister and at the closing of the twelfth day he caught the small fish, which he put in the elk-horn purse, and then the raven, or qua-gawk, came to him and said for him to mount his back, which he did and then the raven commanded him to close his eyes and keep them tightly closed until he was told to open them. The raven flew with him through sunny regions, rain, cold, sleet, snow and over icy fields, taking the same route that the red eagle had flown with his sister. Over the icy fields he could feel the ice with his hands, then after this the raven sat him down, in a warm place and commanded him to keep his eyes closed, and the raven flew on and left him alone for a short time. While alone he began to feel around as he could not open his eyes, he felt in the sandy soil around him and felt that it was covered with cheek, (the shell of the Indian money) and he began to rake it up in heaps around him. When the raven returned he said that he must leave the cheek where it was found, as it was too heavy to carry so far. Metch-cher-us-ah-chene mounted the raven’s back again and away they flew to the land of Cheek-cheek-alth, which was only a short distance from where raven had first left him. Upon arriving in this land, the raven set him down on the banks of the wonderful river, Wer-roy, where the climate is always warm and pleasant, the valley forever green and the fruits and flowers forever bloomed through one long perpetual summer day. On the banks of this glorious river the raven said for him to open his eyes and fish in its brilliant waters for one of the living cheek, or little shell fish. Fishing in this river of sublime beauty he caught this rare and precious shell fish which the raven said he must put in the elk-horn purse with the other fish his sister had told him to catch in the Klamath river. He put the two fishes together as he had been instructed, and lo, vast riches soon followed. The fish he had caught in the Klamath was the female fish, while the one he had caught in the river of Cheek-cheek-alth was the male fish.
Metch-cher-us-ah-chene mounted the raven’s back again, the raven instructing him to keep his eyes closed as before, and they flew back to the Klamath river, back to the Cor-tep village. When they reached the Klamath river the raven instructed him to make twelve of these elk horn purses as large as the horns would permit and he made twelve of the largest kind that he could, and as the male and female cheek would breed little cheek in the small purse he would take the young cheek just as soon as they were large enough and place them in one of the larger purses. He kept on breeding cheek in this way until he had all of his large purses filled with money, or cheek, and he now began putting the cheek in a large basket. His riches were growing so large that he did not know what he was going to do with so much money. Finding himself so lonely in the midst of his vast riches he wooed a wife from the Pec-toolth village where the Trinity river flows into the Klamath. Following the custom of marriage his name was changed to Pec-tow, adopting his wife’s name, and she taking his name. After they had been married but a short time his ambitions died within him and he lost interest in his work and neglected the teachings of his sister. Now the two fishes made their escape from the breeding purse and turned into a worm or bug, about an inch long, with white and black stripes on their bodies and two long horns on their heads. These worms can be found along the river banks around the large rocks, and the Indians always consider it good luck to find one of them, as they catch and put them away in a purse to keep them for good luck. After the escape of these fishes he no longer had the power to accumulate vast riches and ill luck followed.
His wife gave birth to a handsome boy, but it was said that God was displeased and caused the child to die. A second child was born to them, this time a beautiful baby girl, but it died also. A third child was born, another beautiful baby girl, but God too took it away as he had taken the others. A fourth child to this unhappy couple was born, a boy, it was still said that God was displeased with his marriage, and the handsome babe followed its brother and sisters in Heaven. At the death of the fourth child, Metch-cher-us-ah-chene became very sad and thoughtful. So sad and heavy was his heart that earth seemed to him but dreary waste without the noise and prattle of his beautiful babies. He thought long and could not understand why God took the innocent and pure away to His Heavenly Home so soon.
Rising in the early morning he would weep as he went up the mountain side to gather a load of sweat-house wood, and with this on his shoulders he started to the sweat-house in the village, singing and weeping as he went, “I-a-quay, tus,” saying he was very sorry for his children. The mourner sat down to rest, putting the load of wood on the ground and resting his back and shoulders against the load. When he had rested sufficiently, he tried to rise with his load in the usual manner but there was a heavy weight on his load and he could not rise; as if some one was holding him down. He looked around but saw no one, so he tried again and was able to rise with the wood. He sat down a second time and rested with his wood and as before when he began to rise up he could not, but after looking around and seeing no one, he was able to get up all right. He sat down and rested a third time when the same thing happened and upon reaching home he made a fire in the sweat-house and sweated himself in the usual manner, after which he went to the river and took a cold plunge in the water. Coming out of the plunge he went back to the sweat-house and seated himself in front of the door, and gazed far off in the distance, imagining that he could see the spirit, O’quirlth, and at the same time his wife was calling him to dinner. He continued to sit there gazing far beyond the earth. He did not answer her calls, his spirit had gone to join his sister in Werse-on-now, where she resided in Heaven with God. There you may see brother and sister straying together in the infinite meadows of Heaven and about them his beautiful babes, the pure buds of the blooming meadows.
After the death of Metch-cher-us-ah-chene his wife returned to her native village at Peck-toolth where the Trinity and the Klamath rivers come together. She took with her the large basket with cheek, (money) and after a time married a man of the Weitchpec village which is located on the north side of the Klamath river opposite the mouth of the Trinity river. From her second marriage she had one son, and all the cheek she had brought with her made these two villages very rich from this time on.