Fights between the Tsimshian and Haida and among the northern Haida
[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns.]
The Skidegate people went once to trade at Port Simpson[1] in sixty canoes. The Pebble-town people[2] also went there. And they traded with dry halibut. They lived outside. There a Tsimshian, who was with a white man, came to them. Sticks were given around to them (the Haida). And afterward he took the sticks back again. They planned to destroy them during the winter. That was why they counted them.
A woman of the Gîtî′ns’-servants[3] named Bufflehead[4] sold dry halibut to the wife of Lgiäx.[5] She said it was too small and she wanted to exchange it for more. Bufflehead then refused to give her more in exchange. And they threw the dry halibut at Bufflehead. She then threw the dry halibut in the face of Lgiäx’s daughter, and she went home crying.
Some one shouted, and I went out. They were throwing stones at each other. They gave each other a thorough stoning. By and by they stopped. And some time afterward a gun went off. Some one shouted: “They killed so-and-so.” Some time after that another gun went off. Another was shot. Then it stopped for a while. When evening came they began to shoot at us. All through the night they shot at the Skidegate people. During all that time they shouted out [the name of the person shot]. I was then without a gun, and I borrowed one. I held it and two cartridge boxes. They shot at the sail houses on the beach in which we lived. There was nothing behind which we could shelter ourselves. Then I dug a hole for myself in the sand and lay in it.
I then shot at some one who lay behind a log and was shooting, back from the sea. I shot off his hat. When I shot at him again I shot his gun away from him. He then ran away.
A hill lay behind us, from which they were shooting at us. I also began to shoot at those. They also ran away. After they had shot at us for five nights they stopped for a while.
Then the Tsimshian came to dance. They wanted to make peace because we had killed Lgiäx’s nephew. We also enslaved two women who were walking seaward from the town. By and by they started to dance. We then gave them some property. After this had gone on for a while they made the following arrangements. They said that [[385]]we might go with them to Laqꜝalā′m. And we said that we would give them more property. We thought then that it was all right, and we went to our canoes. While a part of the provisions lay on shore the Tsimshian took the provisions. We then got into our canoes. I pushed my canoe off with the many which were there. When the canoes got away two remained. I then ran toward the fort at Port Simpson.[6] There was yet a crowd of Skidegate people there. And, while I stood there, two canoes with the dancers[7] in them were still there. Then the Tsimshian pursued. They shot into the canoes, pulled themselves close alongside, and in a short time they drifted along empty. Then, when the two that were there started off, I ran down from in front of Port Simpson house. I jumped into the stern. Then the two dancers[7] [in their canoes] paddled backward. I took a gun and shot them both. At that time I scared them. Those who first went off took their property. A south wind was blowing. Canoes drifted off empty.
They then shot much at us from Laqꜝalā′m. There was no gun in my canoe. After that they again shot at us. We then fled. During all that time the Tsimshian pursued us. That was a great disaster, though the story of it sounds well enough. They pursued us far out to sea. I was in my wife’s canoe.