Story of the House-point families
[Told by Tom Stevens, chief of Those-born-at-House-point]
The son of the town chief of House-point was half crazy. The children of the town played at G̣ałna′s,[1] and all went home, and he came after them. And in the place where they had been playing something with four faces was rolling around, [exclaiming]: “Great-crazy-days, Great-crazy-days.” Then he ran to catch it, but he did did not see whither it went.
One time he threw stones at it. After he had done this several times he saw whither it went. Then he chased it. He chased it, chased it a while, and it went into the ocean before him. And he also jumped right in after it. After he had pursued it along upon a trail in the ocean for a while, he chased it out in front of “Upset-canoe”[2] and it sat waiting for him on the beach. Then he sat near it. It talked to him there.
Then it took a bag off of its back, laid it near by, took out of it a partly finished canoe and taught him how they were going to make them. It told him how they would stretch it and would build a fire inside.
Then it took cedar bark out of its bag. It told him its name was g̣a-i.[3] It told him they would use this for houses. And it told him they would sew together the canoes with the cedar limbs and fasten the cross seats in place with them.
After it was through telling him, it struck the man with its elbow. Yū′iyā′⁺. It pushed him down. It became a bird and walked down from him flapping its wings. It dived and came up far out. But then he saw a Redhead[4] floating on the water out at sea. That it was that was helping the people to settle at House-point.
And afterward he came home. And he told his friends. Then they began to make a canoe. As he told them, they fastened down the seats with cedar limbs. When it was broken, they sewed it together with them. And, when he explained to them about the cedar bark, they also took that. They put cross sticks[5] in the pieces and made houses. This is how they began to live under cedar barks. And at that time they also began fishing in the ocean.
And it also taught him other things in the same way. It told him how they were going to fasten halibut hooks with roots. And it told him that they should pull off cedar bark and weave mats out of it. It also told him that they should twist it into ropes and use it that way in fishing. [[319]]
After some time had passed, they had snares set for eagles. And they sat in holes under these. When any were caught in them they broke their wings, and at evening they took as many as they knew were theirs.