Page:Kutenai Tales.djvu/315

300 who have captured Young Coyote. They find the people using Young Coyote in place of their hoop. Fox makes a sign to him, and Young Coyote runs away and makes his escape.

Salmon hears about the hoop, and tries to win it by gambling with Coyote. Coyote and his partner Young Fox lose the hoop. Coyote sends Young Fox to Old Fox to borrow his partridge tail. Fox plays with Young Coyote as partner against Salmon, and wins back what Coyote has lost. Salmon loses his daughter, who is then married to Young Coyote.

The couple have a child. They travel in their canoe to the Salmon country. Fox accompanies them. The woman is seated in the bow of the canoe. They reach a dangerous place. Fox, Coyote, and his son enter a bladder. Fox has his pipe in the hole of the bladder. The canoe upsets above the falls and sinks; but they come up unharmed below the falls, drifting down in the bladder. The same happens at another place.

When they reach the Salmon country, the woman climbs a steep precipice, on which she hopes to kill Coyote and Fox. Fox throws tobacco on it, and they are able to climb it. The woman asks her elder brother to kill Fox and Coyote. He throws dog manure into the fire in order to suffocate them, but Fox saves them in his bladder. They are sent out to fish salmon during the night. Coyote stays behind in the tent, and is warned not to fall asleep, because the people will kill him. He is also told to come out if he should see a small fire, which would indicate that Fox and Coyote were fighting with the Salmon people. Two old persons stand in the doorway; and when Coyote sees the light of the canoe getting small, he rushes out. Coyote deceives the old people, who kill each other with their hammers. Coyote goes aboard the canoe.

The woman's brother transforms himself into a salmon. A Salmon boy, who accompanies them, moves his torch so that Fox shall not hit the salmon with his spear. The boy tells Fox to strike the salmon tail. If he should have done so, the salmon would have upset the canoe. Fox knows this, and strikes the stomach of the salmon. They cut off its head. Coyote is told not to look back. He disobeys, and the canoe can not be moved. The pursuers are satisfied when Fox throws the salmon head into the water, and the canoe moves on.

The people are sent to dive for the salmon head, and the one who succeeds in getting it is promised the Salmon chief's daughter. Turtle succeeds, and marries the girl, who refuses to talk. When he makes her laugh by tickling her, he finds that her mouth has a foul smell, and he leaves her.

26. (No. 60).—Coyote's wife, Dog, sends him to visit Panther. He finds him engaged in making arrows, while his wife is cleaning skins. They refuse to give him food. He sends his wife, telling her that their meat is hanging close to the doorway. Panther scolds her. When she returns, Coyote makes a bow for himself and his son, and a hammer for his wife and his daughter. They attack Panther, and eventually kill him and his family. They skin them and throw the bodies out of the tent.

Coyote acts as Panther used to do: he calls the game, which appears, and which he shoots. Since he shoots too much, the game disappears, except two animals. The animals suffer, and say that they recognize that it is Coyote who has shot too many of them. They send Little Flathorn, who discovers the bodies of the Panther. The animals make war on Coyote. They throw stones down from the mountains. Coyote paints himself and puts on his war dress. His wife and his children are killed by the stones, and finally he himself is hit.