"'And so shall it be,' he declared. 'I can deny you nothing this day,
and some time you may bear sons to bless this peace you have asked, and
to bless their mother's sire for granting it.' Then he turned to all
the young men of the tribe and commanded, 'Build fires at sunset on all
the coast headlands--fires of welcome. Man your canoes and face the
north, greet the enemy, and tell them that I, the Tyee of the
Capilanos, ask--no, command that they join me for a great feast in
honor of my two daughters.' And when the northern tribes got this
invitation they flocked down the coast to this feast of a Great Peace.
They brought their women and their children: they brought game and
fish, gold and white stone beads, baskets and carven ladles, and
wonderful woven blankets to lay at the feet of their now acknowledged
ruler, the great Tyee. And he, in turn, gave such a potlatch that
nothing but tradition can vie with it. There were long, glad days of
joyousness, long pleasurable nights of dancing and camp fires, and vast
quantities of food. The war canoes were emptied of their deadly
weapons and filled with the daily catch of salmon. The hostile war
songs ceased, and in their place were heard the soft shuffle of dancing
feet, the singing voices of women, the play-games of the children of
two powerful tribes which had been until now ancient enemies, for a
great and lasting brotherhood was sealed between them--their war songs
were ended forever.
"Then the Sagalie Tyee smiled on His Indian children: 'I will make
these young-eyed maidens immortal,' He said. In the cup of His hands
He lifted the Chief's two daughters and set them forever in a high
place, for they had borne two offspring--Peace and Brotherhood--each of
which is now a great Tyee ruling this land.
"And on the mountain crest the Chief's daughters can be seen wrapped in
the suns, the snows, the stars of all seasons, for they have stood in
this high place for thousands of years, and will stand for thousands of
years to come, guarding the peace of the Pacific Coast and the quiet of
the Capilano Canyon."
* * * * *
This is the Indian legend of "The Lions of Vancouver" as I had it from
one who will tell me no more the traditions of his people.
The Siwash Rock
Unique, and so distinct from its surroundings as to suggest rather the
handicraft of man than a whim of Nature, it looms up at the entrance to
the Narrows, a symmetrical column of solid grey stone. There are no
similar formations within the range of vision, or indeed within many a
day's paddle up and down the coast. Amongst all the wonders, the
natural beauties that encircle Vancouver, the marvels of mountains
shaped into crouching lions and brooding beavers, the yawning canyons,
the stupendous forest firs and cedars, Siwash Rock stands as distinct,
as individual, as if dropped from another sphere.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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