Page:Kutenai Tales.djvu/138

Rh A few days after they had broken camp | in winter, Ya.uk'e',ka'm was down below. The people did not know || that Ya.uk'e',ka'm's mother 15 had gone | down into the water, and that Ya.uk'e',ka'm was born there and had come from the water. Now, when they had thrown Ya.uk'e',ka m | into the water in winter, then the fish ate him | be- cause he was dead. Therefore the fish did so. || They ate up his body. 20 Ya.uk'e',ka'm knew at once that the fish | were eating of his feet, and he kicked them. He said: | "Why are you eating me?" The fish said to him: "We are not angry at you. Why do you kick us? We are restoring you." Then Ya.uk'e',ka'm knew himself.'|| The fishes said to him: "Go ashore! You shall go. | The people 25 went in that direction. | Don't think that it is a long time since they broke camp. | Crane dragged a young tree along to cover their tracks. They thought you would not know which way they went." | Then Ya.uk'e',ka'm went ashore to the village site. He looked at it || and 30 saw which way they had gone. He started. After about | three or four days he saw a village site. He saw that there was | some fire left at the village site. He knew that they had started from there early in the morning. He started and went along. He heard Crane singing. He reached him, and said to him: "What are you doing with that young tree?" Crane said: "Several days ago | 35 Ya.uk'e',ka'm was killed and was thrown into the water. We are afraid he may come back to life, and he will go the way we are going and will kill everybody. I have been told to drag along this young tree, so that, if he should come back to life, | he may not rec- ognize the trail." Then (Ya.uk'e'ika'm) knocked || Crane down. 40 Ya.uk'e',ka'm went on, and reached | Crane's wife. Then he knocked her down. He started, and saw | somebody going along. He reached that person, and saw that it was his sister-in-law. | She went along crying. She said: "My brother-in-law Ya.uk'e'¡ka'm used to take me along this way. | The people were afraid of him, || and the 45 other day they killed him. Now I am poor. I am hungry, | for the people are not afraid of him. My husband's brother is no more." | She carried her child on her back. Her child's name was Duck.² Ya.uk'e',ka'm poked the child with a stick. The child looked at him and saw him; and Duck said to his mother: || "Uncle Ya.u- 50 ke',ka'm is here." Then the mother of Duck turned around and looked. There was a tree, and Ya.uk'e',ka'm had gone behind it | when his sister-in-law looked at him. There was nothing there. The woman thought | her child had told a lie. She struck him. She said to him: "Oh, | don't you know how I feel because my brother-in-law has been killed? || The people make us suffer." | She 55 was crying while she was naming Ya.uk"e',ka'm; | and Ya.uk'e',ka m 1 Probably "came to his senses." 2 Species unknown.