42. The Water Being Who Married the Princess

(There are a great many stories of human beings who made wonderful marriages, telling how a prince or princess was taken away from the old town of Metlakahtla, where, after the great Flood, all the villages of all the tribes took their beginning.)

A great chief lived there, who had a very beautiful niece, a young princess, whose name was Sagapgiâ. His princess was very much beloved by the young women of her uncle’s tribe. One day in summer, when the salmonberries were ripe on Skeena and Ksdâl Rivers, many young women of one tribe, of a Raven town, took a large canoe. The canoe was full of young women, and the princess Sagapgiâ was among them. She was sitting in the center of the large canoe. They have to pass a slough (?) near the mouth of Skeena River, and there is a great sandbar which they saw in front

of the canoe off the mouth of Sandy Bay Creek. They went with the tide, and therefore the canoe was very swift; and when it was near the bar, they saw a mass of foam over the sandbar; and while the young women went across the foam, they paddled very hard; and when they had passed by, they found that they had lost the princess out of the canoe. The canoe was full of foam where she had been sitting. Then they cried for her sake. They made a camp at Autumn Camp, which is now named Port Essington. There they waited for the tide to turn, and when the tide was out, went home and told all that had happened to them.

Then the wise men said that the supernatural being of Sandy Bay had taken her. Therefore the great chief, her uncle, called all the shamans from all the villages and paid them. The shamans said that the son of the great supernatural being of Sandy Bay had married the girl. Therefore the uncle of the princess sacrificed for her sake grease, crabapples, cranberries, dried berries, elk skins, costly coppers, garments of sea-otter skin, marten garments, abalone shells, canoes, and slaves. He made a great sacrifice. The-young princess saw all these things, which came into the house of the chief of Sandy Bay, where she was sitting at the bottom of the sea.

As soon as she entered the house of the supernatural being, Mouse Woman came to her side, and said to her, “Throw your woolen earornament into the fire!’ and when she had done so, the Mouse Woman took the burnt wool out of the fire, and asked the princess, “Do you know who has brought you here 4” She said, No.’ His is the house of a great chief of the supernatural beings. His son wants to marry you.” Thus said the Mouse Woman, and went away.

When the sacrifices of her uncle came into the house of the supernatural being at the bottom of the sea, the young man loved her very much, for she was very beautiful. She staid there many years. She had a son, whom her father-in-law called Down The Useless River (Wa-mᴇdi-a’ks). When the boy was born, the grandfather took his forehead and pulled it, and he also pulled his legs and his hands and his body, and the infant was called by its grandfather Y!aga-gunu’ks Down The Useless River (Y!aga-watkda wa-mᴇdi-a’ks).:

One day the supernatural chief was sitting by the side of his large fire with his back against the fire, his face toward the Useless-River a little above his house. He said to the Useless-River, ‘Send down to my daughter-in-law a baby girl!” On the following morning the princess had conceived: and when the time came, she gave birth to a baby girl. The chief made it grow quickly, as he had done with the elder child; and when the children had grown up to be a young man and young woman, the old chief invited all the supernatural beings of the rocks: and when all the supernatural beings came into the house, the great chief’s people served food to his guests. After they had eaten, the supernatural chief said to them, “My dear chiefs of the supernatural beings of all parts of the world, I will speak a few words to you. Let all my grandchildren’s people live! Don’t do them much harm, because many of them have been drowned in the river by you. Therefore [ I have invited all of you to my house.” Then all the monsters replied, “Yes, we will do what you have said.” North Wind said, “I will not blow so often;” and South Wind said, “Neither will I;” and West Wind and East Wind said the same; and all the supernatural beings said the same.

(Before the old supernatural chief had invited all the monsters to his house, many canoes were capsized on Skeena River and along the coast, for the supernatural beings in the water wanted to eat the dried berries which they carried in their canoes. Therefore many canoes were capsized by them.)

After they had all said that they would not do any more harm to the people, they all went out, each to his own home.

Now many days had passed, and the great chief said to his son, “Now, my dear son, let my grandchildren and their mother go back to their own home!” Therefore on the following day they started homeward; and when they arrived at the Raven town, they were all happy, and the tribe of the young princess’s uncle was full of joy because she was still alive.

He invited all the Tsimshian tribes, chiefs, and other people to show them his two grandchildren, and he gave out their names.

Then the young man and his sister did all they could to obtain animals of the woods and of the water. The young man was very rich, and he would give great feasts to his uncles’ people. In course of time his uncle died, and he gave a great feast to all the Tsimshian chiefs and to their people, and he took the name which his supernatural grandfather on the sandbar had given to him while he was with him in the town of the supernatural beings in Sandy Bay. He had called him Down The Useless River.

Soon after he had given a feast to all the Tsimshian, he said to his mother, “Now I shall invite all the supernatural beings which were my supernatural grandfather’s guests when we were in his house!” and his mother said, “Do so, my dear son! Your supernatural father and your supernatural grandfather will help you.” Then the young chief sent word to a man of the tribe of G·it-lā’n of the Tsimshian, who know how to make carved wooden dishes; and he sent word to the Gi-spa-x-la’°ts to make carved wooden spoons; and he sent word to the G·inax’ang ik to make carved wooden boxes; and he gave order to the G·id-wul-g·â’dz to make deep wooden dishes with carving; and he gave order to the G·it-dzī’°s to make carved horn spoons; and he gave order to the G·inadâ’°xs to dry much mountain-goat meat and tallow; and he gave order to the G:i-lu-dzā’r to pick cranberries and crabapples; and he gave order to the G-idwul-ksᴇ-bā’° to make many hundred score of dried cakes of hemlock sap; and he gave order to the G·its!alā’sᴇr to dry many bundles of berries; and he gave order to the tribe of G·its!ᴇmgā’lôn to dry many hundreds of salmon, and to the women to make mats of the bark of the red cedar.

His was two years before he gave the great feast to all the monsters or supernatural beings in the water. At the end of two years all the Tsimshian tribes brought the things they had made. The G-ispa-x-l&/°ts brought ten boxes of carved spoons, the G·it-lā’n brought ten boxes of carved wooden dishes, the G·inax’ang ik brought many carved boxes, the G·id-wul-g·â’dz brought ten large boxes filled with deep carved wooden dishes, and the G·it-dzī’°s brought ten boxes of carved horn spoons, and the G:inadâ’°xs brought many boxes filled with dried meat and tallow, and the G·i-lu-dzā’r brought many boxes of cranberries and many boxes of crabapples mixed with grease, and the G·id-wul-ksᴇ-bā’? brought many hundreds of bundles of dried cakes of hemlock sap, and the G·its!alā’sᴇr brought many hundreds of bundles of dried blueberries and many boxes of cranberries mixed with grease, and soapberries, and the G·its!ᴇmgā‘lén brought many hundred bundles of dried spring salmon and many hundred bundles of silver salmon.

He sent word to the tribe of the G·it-qxā’la to shred bark of the red cedar and to bring eagle down and tobacco, and he sent word to the G·it-q!ā’°da to make blankets of yellow-cedar bark and to bring burnt clamshells. Now, the tribe of G·it-qxā’la brought many boxes filled with shredded red-cedar bark, ready to make into headdresses and necklaces; and the G·it-q!ā’°da brought many boxes filled with yellow-cedar-bark blankets and cloaks ready to wear, and burnt clamshells; the G·it-qxā‘la also brought many boxes of tobacco. His own tribe, the G·idzᴇxlā’*t, took down their canoes and loaded them with all these goods. Many canoes were filled with the goods made by all the Tsimshian tribes. All these tribes used the same language.

Now this young chief moved from the old town of Metlakahtla up to Nass River; and when he arrived there, he built two large houses just above the rock of Ałgusauxs. He built also another house for his mother. Then he sent out his young men and his sister with them in a canoe as messengers to invite all the supernatural beings of the rocks and from the water from all over the world. The canoe was away for ten days, and then came home. ‘The days passed on, and not one of the guests had come to his feast.

Then he and his sister went to their supernatural grandfather to ask him why all the supernatural beings had not come. The supernatural chief replied that they had not come, because one of the supernatural chiefs had not been invited by the messenger. Therefore all the other chiefs had not come. Thus said the supernatural chief to his grandson. He led his grandchildren to the place of the supernatural chief who had been missed by the first messengers. Then the two young people went back to Nass River, where they had come from.

On the following morning they saw a great dark bar at Crabapple-Tree Point, below their camp. The prince said to his people, Go, and flee into the woods, and don’t come down when floods of water swamp our houses and when floods of foam come! When the flood comes a second time, then you will know that they have left.” Then all his people went into the woods on the hills behind the houses.

Now all the monsters came up Nass River; and storms of wind were blowing that day, and floods of water came, and floods of foam covered the houses of the young chief and of his mother and sister. Only these three remained in the camp. The fire of the great young chief who had invited the supernatural beings could not be extinguished by the flood. The people who were in hiding behind the camp on the hill heard the voices of the young chief and his mother in the houses below, in the flood of water and foam that covered the houses. Then the wind and rain storm ceased, and the floods decreased, and the houses appeared out of the waters.

Then the young chief said to those that were high in the woods, “Let all the young men come down and help me serve food to these chiefs!” Therefore all the young men came down to their master; and when all the young men came into the chiefs house, they saw strange forms sitting around. Two of them were very ugly. The names of the ugliest two were Spagait-an-ā’tk and K-knaaze. The name of another one was Kuwâ’k. He was very good to look at. He always smiled when looking around. He was bald-headed. Another one was called K-łgu-â’l. His hat and his blanket were full of arrows. Another chief was called Lax-an-batsa’xł. He wore a hat made of twisted cedar branches. Another chief was called Long Hands (Wut!ᴇ-an’ô’n); another one, Drift Log Enemy (Wîl-nłᴇbā’l g·al-sōks); another one, Short Nose (Łgu-dzak). Others were named K-spᴇ-ła’walk, K-nᴇ-dᴇp-wā’n, K-wîl-g·ig·a’mk, K-wîl-dzā’n, Txam-ā’x, Nłaks and his grandfather, K-ts!ᴇm-a’us, K-wī-ts!uwanxł, G·adłᴇm nāgai, Wa-mᴇdi-a’ks, K-sanā’il, K-sbaxł, K-gwilaxla’k, (Wîl-g·ig·a’mk), Wîl-g·amk-ga-a’ks, K-n-ts!ahō’mt, K-sbałił, K-gutisgâ’t.;

All the supernatural beings wore their crests on their heads and on their garments. Therefore when all the young men came into the house, they saw the wonderful things that the guests of the young princess had. The young chief took his new name, Down The Useless River (Y!aga-watkda wa-mᴇdi-a’ks), and his sister took the name Killer Whales Are Ready To Go Up (Wi-alas-litk-gui-néxIal-vo). After the two had proclaimed their names, the young man helped the chief serve the dried salmon and the other food. They put it into the carved dishes, which they placed before the guests.

After a while the young chief said, “Throw all the carved wooden dishes into the fire!” The young men did so: and when all the dishes that were filled with roasted dried salmon were burned, the chief said to his attendants, “Take the deep carved wooden dishes and put the dried berries into them!” They did as they had been told; and after they had eaten the dried berries and salmon, the fat of mountain goat was thrown into the fire. Alter they had eaten the berries mixed with crabapples and cranberries, they filled the carved square boxes and threw them into the fire with the carved wooden spoons; and when the monsters had eaten dried blueberries mixed with crabapples, they looked at one another with smiling faces. Then the chief said to his attendants, “Now grind the roasted hemlock bark!” They did so, and mixed it with hot water and grease and with cranberries, and placed them in carved boxes. They put one spoon in each box a nice carved mountain-goat-horn spoon, They threw these also into the fire: the carved boxes, wooden dishes, and spoons which all the Tsimshian tribes had made for two years before the feast. They cast everything into the fire with the food.

After the food had been served, the chief piled up many elk skins, marten garments, raccoon garments, weasel garments, and others, and goat fat, tobacco, ocher, and costly coppers. He gave them away to all these supernatural chiefs. Then he said to all his guests, “I want these two chiefs to take their place way back of Canoe Pass, because these two chiefs are so hard for human beings to pass.” Then all the monsters consented to what Down The Useless River said. That is the reason why these two chiefs, Spagait-an-ā’tk and K-knaaze, left their places.,

On the following day the young chief said to his attendants, “My dear young men, now go and flee again up the hills! So they went into the woods up the hills and mountains, Then the wind blew harder and harder. The flood came, and the houses were covered with foam and water, and it was storming the whole night. On the following morning the wind ceased, for Chief K-gazoun poured his seal oil on the water, and it was quite calm; and when all the monsters were gone, the chief’s people came down to their camp; and they saw that the chief’s house was carved with the great starfish covered with costly abalone shells, and the other house was carved with a large bullhead with live children on its back, with beautiful green abalone shells in the eyes and fins. These two carved houses were given to the chiefs by the monsters. Then all the people of the chief’s tribe loved their master very much, and the chief and his sister also loved their people.