56. Story of the Ghost

Long ago there were many people in the various villages among the Indians. A large village of three rows was situated on G·its!ᴇmgā’lôn River, and a great many people were in that village, who shouted when the geese were flying over the village. When they shouted, the geese would fall down to the ground and die. They were very healthy, and had a great chief and chieftainess, who had an only son, whom they loved much, and all the people of the village loved him much. The prince was called Brown Eagle. The only kind of food he ate was salmon-dip (?), and everybody in the village knew that he only ate salmon-dip; therefore in summer everybody cut out the salmon-dips and sent them to the chief’s son. They did this for many years, and everybody loved him tenderly.

It came to pass, when this prince had grown up to be » young man, that he became sick. He was very ill, and it was not many days before he died. Then all the people mourned for him. Hs father and mother mourned very much for his sake. After four days had passed, they put his body in a coffin and placed it on the burial-place, and every morning his parents burned salmon-dips on his grave.[1]

After two or three months they buried him. The great chief called his great slave, and ordered him to run out and tell his tribe to move away from the old village site; therefore the great slave ran out and shouted, and said, “Move away from the village site, people!” Therefore the people moved from their old home, for they were ordered to do so by the great chief, and they built their new village.

They had been there for two years, and still the parents of the prince were in deep sorrow. One day some young women assembled, and one middle-aged woman was with them. They were going to dig fern roots, and went up to the old village and camped near the burial-place; and while they dug for fern roots, they saw a large company of young men, who had followed them, and who helped the women digging fern roots. Late in the evening the young women told the young men to dig holes and to throw in red-hot stones, on which they were going to cook the fern roots. Therefore the young men dug a large hole in the ground and burned many stones in it; and when the stones were red-hot, they took the ashes from among the hot stones, placed wet moss over them, and placed the fern roots on top in good order. Then they covered them over with more wet moss. They covered the hole with earth and ashes, which they piled up high. Then they built a large fire on top, and the young women prepared supper. First they served dried salmon with salmon-dips.

Then the young men felt very happy; and one very foolish youth said, when he found a salmon-dip, ‘Here! I found a salmon-dip, which was Brown Eagle’s best food.” Then they all shouted and laughed. “Here, here!’ they said: and one of them said, “Let us see if he will not come from his grave when we call him, and we will lift the salmon-dips and feed him.” Then all the young men agreed. One of them took up several salmon-dips, and said, ‘Brown Eagle, come down and eat these salmon-dips, which were your best food while you lived in years gone by!”

Then the middle-aged woman stopped them, and said, “Don’t speak like that to the dead prince!” but all the voung men repeated it. The young women were all afraid, but the young men lifted their voices and shouted, ‘Come down, Brown Eagle, and eat your best food!” Again the middle-aged woman said, “Don’t, don’t! It is improper to mock the dead.”

While they were laughing and joking and making merry around the large fire, the middle-aged woman took her two grandchildren and said to them, “Let us hide under the fallen tree yonder, lest misfortune come upon us if we stay with these foolish young people here!” so they crept away and hid under the fallen tree.

Before they reached there, they heard a terrible noise proceeding from the old burial-ground, and a dreadful mourning voice, which said, “Let me have it!” Then the old woman took her two grandchildren, put them under the log, and spread her mats over them. She herself went back to where the young people were. Then all the young men stopped their joyous singing and shouting, and terror came into their hearts. The old woman said, “Now, young men, call him again!” but they were all silent.

Behold! the Ghost was coming—the skeleton of Brown Eagle— with arms stretched out in front, and saying, “Let me have it!” His head was just the skull, with dark, empty eye-sockets. The young women were very much frightened, and the young men as well. Now some of them ran into the large fire, and were burned there; and when the doleful sounds of the Ghost were coming nearer, the rest of the young people ran to and fro, feeling full of fear. They all tried to escape, but the Ghost took their breaths, and at last they all lay dead around their large fire. Only the old woman and her two grandchildren were saved out of the many young people.

Early the next morning the old woman arose and went to where she had hidden her two grandchildren. She called them, and went first to the large fire. There they saw many dead bodies lying around the fire. Many of them were scorched in the ashes. Then they went down to the new village and told the story to the people. Therefore the parents of all the young people went, and arrived at the place; and they saw the bodies of all the young people lying around the ashes, some of them scorched by the fire. So they all wept over them and carried them down to their new village.

The wise men said to the parents of those who were dead, “Call all the shamans, and let us hear what they have to say!” So they called them all into the house where the dead bodies Jay, and they put all the bodies in good order. Then all the people of the village came in. When the shamans were working with their supernatural powers, a new shaman said, “Let us have a great war with the Ghost, because the souls of these young people are living in the house of the chief of the Ghosts! Tonight all the Ghosts will assemble in their chief’s house. Therefore let us go there before that time. If we do not get them tonight, then all our young people will be dead for good.”

Therefore all the shamans consented, and before dusk they put on their armor and took their weapons; and they went forth from the house where the dead were, to go and fight with the Ghosts. They marched up to the burial-ground very quietly, while the attendants kept on singing in the house, beating the skin drums with their drumsticks.

When the shamans arrived at the burial-place, the new shaman said, “Now, my dear friends, two of you shall enter at each rear corner, and two at each front corner, of the house of the Ghost chief, and I will shout outside of the house. Then all the rest of our friends shall shake their rattles, and the bones with supernatural power which hang around your necks.” Then the four shamans in the house of the Ghosts shall shake their rattles and the bones on their neck-rings, and then all of us will enter; and when all the Ghosts run out, each of us will take the soul of one of the young people.”

After the new shaman had finished his speech, he walked around the grave four times, following the course of the sun. He was shouting louder and louder; and when the four shamans in the house of the Ghost heard the shouting outside, they began to shake their rattles and the bones on their neck-rings, and all the shamans who stood near the grave shook theirs also; and when the Ghosts heard the noise of the bones around the shamans’ necks and their rattles, they ran out of the house, but the souls of the young people remained inside the house of the chief of the Ghosts. Then all the shamans rushed in, and each took the soul of one of these young men who had died the night before, and whose bodies were scorched in the fire. Their souls were about to run out with the Ghosts, for they were really dead.

Then the shamans went down to the house where the bodies of the young people were, while the attendants were singing and beating the skin drums. Then all the shamans came in and did their work. Then the new shaman said, “Now, friends, let us return the souls that we have to the bodies to which they belong!” and each shaman put the soul of a young person into his body, and the young people awoke, like persons who have been asleep. They went to their homes, but they were not yet like living beings. Therefore their parents paid the shamans again to take off the ghostly quality from these young people. The shamans worked over them for four days, and then life came back to them.

The people said, therefore, that no young people should go about. alone, without their parents. That is the end.