34. The Young Chief Who Married His Cousin

There was the town of G·it-qxā’la, and the great chief there had a beautiful daughter. He had also a nephew who was to succeed to his place when he himself should die. His young chief was very wealthy, because he was a good hunter. The young chief wanted to marry his uncle’s daughter. The great chief agreed, and one day he married her. The young woman loved him very much, and he also loved her very much.

A year passed after they had married, and the young chief wanted to take another princess to be his wife, for in olden times it was the custom of chiefs to have many wives. So it was with this young chief. But his former wife did not want to let her husband take another wife beside her. The young chief, however, wanted to follow the chiefs’ custom to have many wives, and therefore he married the other princess; and when he had his new wife, he still loved his own cousin, but she became sadder and sadder day by day. The young chief told her that he loved her more than his new wife, but she was sad, and her husband said, “I love you with all my life.”

She, however, did not listen to him; and after midwinter, when all the people moved to the fishing-ground, the young chief also moved. He took his two wives in his canoe, and his uncles moved with them in his own canoe. They were there on the fishing-ground. The young chief built his own new house, and his father-in-law lived in his old house. The young princess was still sad. She always went to her father’s house; and when the young chief’s slaves would bring salmon to the young chief, he would divide it between his two wives; but his first wife did not take hers because she was jealous, and she always went to her father’s people to ask for salmon; and she took them to her parents, and her mother dried them for her. She became sadder and sadder every day, and finally she left her husband and lived in her father’s house.

She would go often into the woods to gather berries, and there she would cry, and late in the evening she would go home. Her mother did all she could to comfort her, but she continued to cry.

There was a high steep rock a little above their camp, which they called Place Of Supernatural Beings. She was sitting at the foot of the high rock. Every day she went into the woods to pick berries; and when her baskets were full, she would stay at the foot of a large old dry tree, weeping, for she was very unhappy. She did so every day, and in the evening she would go home.

Before she entered her father’s house, she heard a joyful voice in her husband’s house. Then she was still more sorrowful, entered her father’s house, and went right to bed without eating anything. She wept all night. Early the following morning she went out again to pick berries: and as soon as she had filled her two baskets, she sat down at the same place, crying.

While she was there, a supernatural being came to her, who asked her, “Why do you weep, and what makes you so sad /’” She replied, “Because my husband has married another princess. I love him, and that makes me sad every day.” Then the supernatural being said, “Don’t cry! I have come to comfort you. I want you to love me.” Then he asked her to marry him, and she agreed. She loved him very much. He told her that his camp was not far from hers, and he said, “I will come to you often.”

His young man was as bright as the sun. He was the son of the supernatural chief who lived in the high rock, and whose name is K-xamin. It stands a little above the river. The shining young man came to her often: and every morning when she went to pick berries, a supernatural being came and helped her, and sometimes a supernatural being would bring them many salmon.

Now the former husband of the young woman came often to take her back while the young woman was absent picking berries. He said to her parents that he loved her more than his new wife. When she came back, they told her, but she did not want him any more.

Soon this young woman was with child. In the fall the young chief moved back to his own village, with his uncle’s whole tribe; but the young woman’s father remained behind. He staid there in winter, and the supernatural being brought all kinds of animals to his father-in-law.

In midwinter the people moved again, and went to the same camping-ground as before, and there a boy was born to the woman. He was like to his supernatural father. As soon as the nephew had put up his camp, he went to his uncle’s house: and when he came in, the young woman went out. There he saw the bright little boy, and he thought it was his child, but it was the child of the supernatural being. Therefore he was very anxious to take her back, but she refused to go. Every morning the father of this child would bring salmon to his father-in-law. He put them down on the beach below the chief’s house. But the young chief could not catch any salmon, while the young woman’s father was successful in everything. His house was full of all kinds of food, while in the house of his nephew was not enough food for all his people. Therefore the men of his tribe brought him salmon and berries: and before the fall of the year the young chief’s new wife called all the young people, men and women, and bade them help her pick wild crabapples on her husband’s crabapple ground and knife grass ground (?).[1] Two large canoes full of young men and young women started to pick crabapples for the second wife of the young chief. They went up shouting for joy.

When they had gone, the supernatural being came to his secret wife, and asked her, Did you go with your parents when they went to pick wild crabapples 4 She said, “No.’ beeause she was much ashamed because the second wife of the young chief had made fun of her. Then the supernatural being said to her, “You must go with them, for my father’s slaves will pick wild crabapples for you.” Therefore she went with them; and the supernatural being said to her, Take many mats with you, Many boxes, and many baskets!” and she did what the supernatural being had told her to do. They took a large canoe and went up above the high rock and camped there. Then the supernatural being came to them on the camping-ground. They saw a crabapple tree full of crabapples; and the supernatural being said again, “IT give these to my child. Clear the ground at the foot of the crabapple tree, and spread your mats all around it.” She did so; and after she had cleared the ground, she spread the mats. They sat down on the beach, her parents a little beyond their daughter, who had gone to pick the large crabapples. Then all the leaves of the crabapple tree began to shake, although the young woman did not see any one on the tree.

She loved her supernatural husband. In the afternoon he said to her, “Go and see what has happened to your crabapple tree.” She went up to the foot of the crabapple tree, and saw a great pile of crabapples on every mat which she had spread there, and there were no small leaves. She ran to the place where her parents were, and called them, “Come, parents, and look here!’ Her mother came down from the tree, and she ran to her daughter, and they saw great piles of crabapples on every mat, and she saw the leaves in heaps by themselves on one side of the tree. She called her husband, and the old chief came to her and saw these things.

Then the supernatural being spoke again to his wife, and said, “Tell your parents to cook these crabapples tonight, before they waste away! Therefore the old chief built a large fire, put stones into it, put water into a square box, threw the red-hot stones into it to make it boil, and when the water was boiling, they threw the crabapples into the hot water and covered the box. They finished this during the night. They filled ten or more large baskets.

The slaves of the supernatural being were the silver-blue cod, and these had picked the crabapples. They were the slaves of the super-

natural spirit who lives at the foot of Mount K-xamin, whose son married the young woman.

The following day they went down to their camp, and they had ten large boxes filled with crabapples mixed with grease.

On the following day the supernatural being came down to his wife, and said to her, “My parents want to see my child for a while.” The young woman said, “Oh, must it be? I am afraid he will cry when he is there.” Then the supernatural being said, No, not so. My father will make a cradle for him. Therefore she let him have the child. The supernatural being said, “Come up to the foot of Mount K-xamin after two days, and stay a little below the high rock. There you shall have your child again.” Then he went away with the child. After two days she said to her parents, ‘Take some elk skins and red ocher and eagle down, and let us go up to the foot of Mount K-xamin to see my child which his father took away two days ago!” They took a canoe and went up the river to the foot of Mount K-xamin. As soon as they arrived, a nice carved cradle came down on the water right to the foot of the high rock, and a sweet lullaby was heard in the mountain, and a live cradle was rolled along by the waves of the river, while the echo of the supernatural lullaby was heard on the river and on the mountain. The child was sound asleep in the cradle, and they learned the supernatural lullaby while the live cradle went up and down on the waves of the river.

As soon as the lullaby ceased, the live cradle came right toward the canoe. Then the young woman heard her husband’s voice, saying, “Take him!” I” The young woman took up the cradle; and the old chief took two elk skins, and said, “I” present these elk skins to you, for you made my grandchild’s carved cradle.” He threw them on the water, and the two elk skins went down: and he threw red ocher and eagle down into the water, which also went down.

Before the people went home to their village, the supernatural being said to his wife, His year you may go home with the rest of your father’s people, and I will still be with you and help you. Let no one marry you. I shall slay the woman who married your former husband.” Then he went away.

The boy grew up rapidly and came to be a youth. One day they moved to their home. but the chief did not camp with his nephew. There were many people in the young chief’s camp. They were always merry. Before they arrived at home, the chief’s new wife took a good-sized canoe with some slaves, and went ahead of all the canoes, full of joy. While they were on their way, a great many killer whales came up, and one of them jumped on the canoe in which the new wife of the young chief was. It capsized, and she was drowned together with some slaves, and the young chief was in deep sorrow, and mourned for the death of his new wife. At last they arrived at home. The supernatural being had sent the killer whale to upset the canoe of the chief’s new wife, who was drowned in the water.

Now, the supernatural being came to his wife by night, and told her that he had killed the woman who had made her unhappy. Two days after all the people had arrived at home, the old chief arrived. Then they heard a great noise in the house of the young chief, They asked some people what had happened to the young chief, and they told them that the chief’s new wife was drowned by killer whales jumping on her canoe.

Then the old chief gave a great feast and showed his grandchild to the people. The child crew up and became an expert hunter and expert at halibut fishing, and he obtained all kinds of fish and water animals, large and small, and he was richer than any one else. He gave many feasts to all the tribes, and many chiefs wanted to marry his mother, but she refused. She did not want to marry again.

Her former husband also wanted to marry her again, but she refused. Many years passed, and the wife of the old chief died. Then the son of the supernatural being was lonely, and said to his mother, “Let us camp somewhere with my grandfather!” His mother agreed, and they moved, and camped away from the village.

One day the young man’s mother spoke to him, and said, “My son, I want to say this to you: you ought to marry some princess!” but he replied, “No.” And while they were encamped there, the supernatural being came and brought them many halibut, seals, sea lions, and other animals. They dried them, and built four large houses for drying halibut and seal and sea lion: and when the four houses were full, they built another four, and filled them with whale blubber; and the supernatural being and his son brought four great whales, and he obtained many large water animals. Many houses were full of seal, sea lion, and whales. He caught four large whales, and they tied them to the beach. Seals and sea lions were Lying about, and there was a smell of grease all along the beach in front of their camp, and the oil of the great whales covered the water of the sea.

At the same time many people died because there was no food in their village. One day early in the morning the old chief took a canoe and went to the village. He loaded his canoe with seal meat and fat and sea-lion meat and fat and also with whale blubber and dried halibut. When his people saw the canoe coming, they all went down to the beach, and the old chief gave each man a piece of seal meat and fat, sea lion meat and fat, and whale blubber; and he told the people that they had an abundance of food and that many houses were full of meat and fat, of whales, sea lions, seals, and of dried halibut: and he said, “Four great whales are tied to the beach at our camp, and sea lions, seals, and halibut are lying about.”

When all the tribes round about heard that there was plenty to eat in the camp of the old chief, they loaded their canoes with elks, spoons of elk antler, and slaves, to present them to their old chief. They brought enough elk skins to fill two houses: and when all the tribes round about heard that there was plenty to eat in the old chief’s camp, they went there to buy meat—the Tsimshian, Gritlama’t, Bellabella, the people from China Hat, and all the tribes speaking different languages. They bought dried meat and fresh meat, whale blubber, and fat of sea lions and seals, and so on, They bought them with slaves, many large coppers, and four houses full of elk skins, and they had many thousand raccoon skins, and spoons of elk antler, and horn spoons; and when all the buyers had assembled, the old chief gave a great feast to the people speaking different languages—those who had bought the meat and fat in his camp: and he gave away many slaves and canoes and elk skins, and raccoon skins; and the mother of his grandson gave away many spoons of elk antler, horn spoons, and many boxes of whale oil, and many boxes of sea-lion oil and seal oil.

Then the old chief gave his name to his grandson, and he gave to his daughter a great woman’s name; and when all the chiefs were satisfied, they honored the young chief, and he became great among the people, and the people of his own tribe honored the young chief.

A little later his grandfather died, and he gave a great feast to all the tribes. He became richer and richer because he was a great hunter and his father was a supernatural being; and his name was great among the people speaking different languages as far as the Bellabella and Tsimshian extend, but he never married. His mother also was great among the princesses. She also was afraid to marry, lest her supernatural husband should be angry with her.

(The supernatural being had told his wife that this would be the last time he would visit her. He said, “Let my son help you to everything you need.” Then he disappeared.)