One among them said: “Well! let us gamble with them. Then you can see whether Ga′oax got safely into the woods.” With that intention they went to bed, and next day, early in the morning, the town chief launched his canoe. The town, the chiefs and the middle-aged, all went. They went across.
After they had landed there they went into the middle house, and those who were gambling put away their gambling sticks. At once they began gambling with these instead. The town chief started to gamble with the elder brother. But Ga′oax spread out grizzly bear skins around the inside of the house. She and the young people began to give them food.
The elder brother was left-handed. He had laid the gambling-sticks down on that side. On the same side lay his bone club. After gambling had gone on for some time he stopped the town chief, who was handling the sticks. “You are cheating me” [he said]. And he replied: “No, indeed; I am not cheating you.” In spite of that he insisted upon it for a long time. After they had disputed for some time, the town chief threw fine cedar bark into his face. Then he struck him on the head with his war club. He killed him.
The house was in an uproar. They picked up their weapons, and the Metlakahtla people as well. They began to fight. While the fighting went on the two sisters walked about among them. Although they were struck with the spears, the latter always broke upon them. After the fight had gone on for a while one had an arrow point break off in him. He was wounded badly. When he was about to lie down the elder sister sucked his wound and sucked it out. Then the other sucked it, spit upon her hand, and rubbed on the wound. Then he got up again and fought with them.
The fight went on until the dawn of the next day, and continued then and the day after. Now they began to drive the people of Qꜝadō′ back. When that happened the youngest brother ran over to the house, drew something upon a partly used wooden wedge, said to it: “Carry the news to my grandfather,” and threw it into the fire.[33] [[171]]
Then it at once came into the front part of the house and said: “Your grandchildren are beginning to be hard pressed.” Now he looked down between the floor planks. To his surprise his grandchildren, who were fighting for revenge, were being driven back. The eldest brother was naked. He fought among them with his fists. When he struck one, he did not get up again. He looked down upon all this. He turned around, went to get his small, square box and, when he had opened five boxes, one within the other, he took from the last something [shaped like skeins of yarn], covered with the sky and tied up with rope. After he had looked down for a while, he threw it down upon the people of Metlakahtla. Then their legs only were visible. At these they struck, and they killed all. These were called Clouds-of-the-Killer.[34]
Although this is the second story of the Skedans series, it was the first of them that I took down, my informant choosing to tell the Raven story last, and it is the second Haida story recorded by me. In consequence, the form in which it appears is rougher than that of most of the others, and certain points will seem obscure at the first reading. As noted in the text and translation, there are really two stories combined under one head. To the first the name properly belongs, and this may be a real Haida story, but the second, “He-who-had-Panther-woman-for-his-mother,” is a well-known Tsimshian tale. Nevertheless, my informant stoutly maintained that the story was always told in this combined form. Probably, the common episode of the marriage of two chiefs’ sons to women having supernatural power was the occasion for placing them together. The name given for Panther-woman, Sîmn’â′sᴀm, is Tsimshian. [[173]]
[1] The hawk here referred to is called skiä′msm, or skiä′mskun, is described as of a bluish color, and is said to live on the higher mountains. Artistically, little difference is made between this bird and the thunder-bird, and the two are sometimes said to be identical. The custom here referred to is presumably connected with the potlatch, though I did not hear of it elsewhere. [↑]
[2] See the story of [Raven traveling], note [41]. [↑]