Haida texts and myths

by Unknown

He went out to play with the children. One day there was such a great quantity of salmon eggs about that he sat down and, inside of his blanket, put them into his mouth. Then a child looked at him and shouted, “Moldy-forehead is eating our excrement.”

Then the one who was half rock said to him: “When you are hungry go over to the stream that flows by one end of the town. Then take out one of the salmon that come up into it. Cut it open, and, when you have made a stick for it, roast it and eat up all the parts. Put its bones into the fire.[2] Look about the place carefully [to see that none are left out].”

Then he went thither and did as he was directed; and, after he came away, the eye of the chief’s son became diseased. Then the one who was part rock told him to look around in the place where he had eaten [[9]]salmon, and when he did so he found the hard part surrounding the salmon’s eye with the stick stuck through it. He put it into the fire; and when he came back not the least thing was ailing the one whose eye had been diseased. It had become well. The souls of the Salmon people were what came into the creeks there.

Then the person who was half rock said to him: “When you become hungry, go thither. Take care of the bones. Put all into the fire.” And, when he became weak from hunger, he went to it as directed, took salmon, made a fire for them, and ate them there. One day the rib of some one became diseased. Then he again searched there. He found a rib. That he also burned. When he returned the sick person had become well.

One day, after he had been there for some time, people came dancing on their canoes.[3] Then they landed and began to dance in a house, and the one who was half rock said to him: “Now go behind the town. [[10]]Then break off a young hemlock bough.[4] Shove it into the corner of the house over there where they are dancing. Do not look in after it.”

Then he did so, and when he felt strange (curious) about it, he looked in. His head got stuck there. He barely could pull it away. His face was half covered with eggs. He scraped them off with his fingers. And he pulled out the hemlock bough. The eggs were thick on it. Then he went to the end of the town and ate them at the creek.

Then the Herring people started off. Some time after that the Salmon people also began to move. They started off in one canoe toward the surface of the earth.[5] They loaded the canoe. Some stood about with injured feet and eyes bound up, wanting to go. The people refused to let them. After the provisions had been put on board they hunted about among these, found some one, pulled him up, and threw him ashore. They did not handle such carefully. One of these had hidden himself. In the fall many of them have sore feet and their eyes are sore.[6] [[11]]

Then Moldy-forehead also got in with them. After they had gone along for a while they saw floating charcoal.[7] Part of them were lost there. After that they also came to where foam was floating. There some of them were also lost.

After they had gone along for a while from that place they came to the edge of the sky and, standing near it, they counted the number of times it descended. After it had closed five times they passed under it, and the canoe was broken in halves. It was split in two.[8] Then few were left, they say.

After they had gone on for a while longer they saw what looked like many stars. Those were the salmon inlets, they say. Then three, four, or five got off the canoe. Where the inlets were large ten got off. Then they came to where people stood at the mouth of the creek. After they had been there for a while they stood up and the people said “Ē′yo.”[9] Then they made them ashamed, and they sat down. People kept saying “Ē′yo” to them. [[12]]