Then the Ninstints people began to live in a fort on the top of Sqas. But, although they were afraid, the one who gave his canoe to Sg̣agᴀ′ño lived toward the sea at Ga′-igᴀn-kun.[11] Then the people of Tcꜝā′ał went to war in successive parties. And they were on the water in front of the fort.
Always-ready then came out of the smoke hole, and he walked about on the roof wearing his armor. They shot at him then with arrows. They did not pierce him. He then went back and shot at them in turn. The next time they went to war they climbed up to the top of the cliff. They tried to roll down stones upon them. These did not come near the houses. The stones all skipped over the houses. And they again went home.
And, after they had held them besieged for a while, they were straitened for food. Then Always-ready told his brother-in-law to make ten bows for himself. And, after he had worked upon them for a while, he finished them. Fine feathers were fastened near the tips. And his brother-in-law gave them to him. He was glad to have them. Then he gave up the big cedar bow he always used in favor of these new ones.
The people of the town began to dislike him. His sisters and his brothers-in-law were affected with the same feeling, because, on account of him, they were always hungry.
One day his brothers-in-law came in from fishing. His sister gave him the white part of the belly of the halibut they had caught. On account of that he went out fishing with three persons. He took his ten bows with him, and he took his two arrow boxes. But he left his cedar bow behind.
And on the day after he went fishing, very early, they again came to fight. And, as he used to do, one came out on the top of the house and said “Ha-ha.” And when they shot up at him he went in. When they again shot down from the fort, one of the floating arrows stood on end in the water. They brought it in. From it hung a small stone. Then they handed it to an old man among them, and, after he had thought about it for a while, he said they did that as a sign that he (Always-ready) was out fishing. The ten canoes then started seaward.
Five went out on each side of Xē′na.[12] They looked for him as they went along, and, when they had nearly met at the end, they saw him lying out to sea. Then they went to him. When he discovered them he walked about in the middle of the canoe awaiting them. And when they got near him he took one bow. He broke it. He took another. He also broke that. When he had done that for a while he broke all ten bows. His brother-in-law who had made his bows for him had notched the rounded side of the bow under the feathers. All broke just there. [[406]]
He then threw the broken pieces of the bows and the two arrow boxes into the sea. He did not scratch anyone’s skin. They were afraid of him. When he threw his arrows away they went to him. And they killed the three who were fishing with him, but him they captured.
He then got into Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s canoe. They felt too glad to know that they had taken him. Their minds were very good on account of him. After they had gone along with him for a while they encamped at a long sandy beach which is called G̣ᴀ′nʟ̣ī.[13] They there set him ashore. They sat around him on the beach. They had heard that he was brave, so they wanted to see him.
And, after they had looked at him for a while, they wanted to see how well he could shoot. They then stood up a stick on the beach, and Sg̣agᴀ′ño had something white hung upon it. They then gave him a bow and arrows. He did not like the arrows. They handed him then one with an iron point. And, when he had set the arrow on the bow, he turned around quickly to where Sg̣agᴀ′ño’s nephew sat behind him and shot him. He fell backward from the box on which he was sitting.