Now they (the Kloo people) fled. Seven canoes went out to sea at once. We placed ourselves in hiding close by. By and by some one shouted from out at sea: “They are running down to the fort.” These were three Kloo men who had hidden themselves there. At that time they enslaved two children.
We went thither. Those that were out at sea also came in. They started at once to seize the fort. Hu hu hu hu hu, they went into the houses in a crowd. At that time I went for tobacco only. They [[447]]enslaved all who were sitting in the houses. They took all sorts of things.
Presently some one shouted: “Î′ldjiwas’s father[17] fell.” They immediately went to the canoes. When I passed between the houses I came upon a dead body lying there. And one who came after me cut off the head. I then moved down the face of a steep place toward the sea in a sitting posture. A part of the people were off on the water in their canoes. I was glad when I got into [18]
Gia′gudjañ captured a box. After he brought it out and while he was sitting near it he was shot. He was wounded. They got him in. Half of them they could not get away from the fort. By and by three stood in Reef-canoe.[19] One began to load their guns. Presently they started toward it. Sky[20] steered for them. As they went [toward the fort] he shot toward the place from which they had been firing.
By and by they reached the fort. After they had gone up into it they started back. At once they shot at them from the place out of which they had shot before. After a while they got out safely. When they got away the [Gîtî′sda] people came out to the fort. They (the Haida) took away a small part of the property. The body of the Kloo man was left there.
Now they started away. The two canoes of Gîtku′n[21] and his sons went empty. The other people sang songs of victory. Then a mat sail came along toward them. And one was in the canoe. Gîtku′n enslaved him.
This person said that some people lived farther down on the inlet. He (Gîtku′n) could not persuade them to go after them.
They got ashore then and sent tobacco to the Kloo man through the fire.[22] At that time Gîtku′n said to the Sqoā′ładas[23] man who had the severed head: “Say, brother-in-law,[24] let me have his head instead of you.” He threw it over to him at once. This is how the saying “Somebody’s head cut off”[25] started.
When they afterward came out into open water they came out directly opposite a big canoe that was going along the open coast. They then pursued it, and it distanced the Kloo people. Afterward they came to Kloo.
The Gîtî′sda, or Kittizoo, constituted the southernmost division of the Tsimshian, being situated on Seaforth channel, an extension of Milbank sound. Unlike most war stories, this does not begin by describing some previous injury inflicted by the people attacked. The breakdown of old customs was evidently beginning at this time, and it is said that no expeditions of importance have occurred since this one. As is seen, my informant accompanied the expedition.