6. Hama’lakauae
(Dictated by Hai’alkingame, a Da’naxda’xw, 1897)
A person living at Having-Humpback-Salmon dreamed. “Don’t
stay thus, children! He said. I have dreamed of the supernatural
power that we get from time to time (we inherit).” Thus he said.
He wakened his children. Then the children arose. He instructed his
children, saying that he had dreamed of the place where he always
found dead animals on account of the one-horned mountain goat, the
large mountain goat, that only mother of the mountain goats. “Go
on, go on, start, children! Go to our place at Ka’take. Katale
was the name if the place where he found dead animals on account of
the one horned mountain goat. Then his children went up the river of
Having-Humpback-Salmon. They arrived at the place of their father,
Hama’lakauae. Hama’lakauae was the name of the father.
Then the children started. They were four. Four were their dogs, all
hunting dogs. Then they sat down on the bank of the river. They were
sitting there and looking about over the country. The eldest one of
the children saw something white on a meadow. “What may that be,
friends?” said he said he to his younger brothers.
“Evidently that is what our father referred to. Evidently that
is the thing about which our father gave us instructions.” Then
it was shown to the dog. The dog discovered the white thing on the
meadow. The dog went to the meadow. The dog started. The dog reached
the white thing on the meadow, and barked, barking at the white thing
on the meadow. Then the owners of the dog spoke. “Evidently that
is what we came here for.” Thus said the children.
The dog came back to his master. Then the dog raised his head to his
master. They say the dog probably knew about the mountain goat lying
dead on the meadow. Then the brothers started, and the oldest one
tried to get ahead of the others, although the youngest advised his
elder brothers saying, “Don’t walk too fast, friends!”
Thus said the youngest one to his elder brothers. Then the youngest
one tried to speak again. “Take heed of the advice of our
father!” Thus said the youngest one. He, the youngest one, alone
spoke wisely. The eldest one arrived at the place where the large one
horned mountain goat was lying dead on the meadow. The mountain goat
had a piece of quartz standing on its forehead. Then the eldest
brother desired it overmuch. That eldest one twisted off the quartz
from One Horn. “Ya,” said the youngest one. He, the
youngest one, alone spoke wisely, trying to advise his elder
brothers; but they disobeyed the instructions of their father,
although the father tried to instruct his children well.
The elder brothers were quick, and they quickly took off the tallow.
Then they but open the mountain goat to take off the kidney fat. The
elder brothers tried to get everything; but the youngest one was just
sitting on the meadow, because he felt badly on account of his elder
brothers, who overstepped the advice that their father had tried to
give them in regard to their actions. The elder ones tried to get al
the fat of the intestines of the one horned mountain goat. Then the
youngest one spoke. “Be quick before anything happens, slaves of
misfortune! Something important is going on above in the sky.”
Then a fog appeared above. In vain the elder brothers fought among
themselves for the fat of the intestines, and for all the kidney fat,
and for the skin of the mountain goat. In cain they tied it up
quickly. Then they saw the sky. Smoke was rolling down the mountains.
Evidently it was going to snow. Then it began to snow from above.
The youngest one just pinched off a little of the fat of the
intestines, and then he also pinched off a little of the kidney fat,
which he kept in his mouth, the youngest one continued to speak
wisely. He followed the instructions of the father to his children,
for the father knew what the ancestors of Hama’lakauae had been doing.
Source: Adapted from F. Boaz, by William Wasden Jr.
