Indians of North America -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Folklore; Modoc Indians -- Religion; Modoc mythology
When they were in the middle of the lake, the old man said: “I feel
tired. We will sleep a little while; then we will feel better and can
work.”
Natanatas lay down in one end of the canoe and Kai in the other. Kai
slept a long time; when he woke up, he shook the old man, and said:
“Here, old man, wake up; the wind blows. We are going to get tipped
over and drowned.”
Natanatas pretended to be asleep, but he was making the wind blow; he
wanted to tip the canoe over and drown Kai.
Kai screamed: “Wake up! The canoe is full of water.”
Natanatas didn’t move. Kai pulled him around, shook him and pounded
him. The wind blew harder and harder. Kai was scared; he was wet and
freezing, but no matter what he did, he couldn’t waken the old man.
Just then a white eagle feather that was flying along the bank called
to Kai: “Why do you stay out there? Old Natanatas is trying to kill
you. Pull five strands of seaweed from the bottom of the canoe, tie
them together, twist them, and throw them into the water; then jump on
to them and come ashore.”
Kai did that, and got to land. He dried himself and went back to old
Natanatas’ house.
Some of Natanatas’ sons lived under the water; when their father
drowned a man, they caught and ate him.
Natanatas didn’t know which way Kai went. He said to himself: “Maybe he
fell into the lake, and my sons have eaten him.” He was glad. He made
the wind stop blowing. Then he rowed to the bank, pulled his canoe out
of the water, and went home. When he went into the house, he asked:
“Has Kai come?” Just then he saw him lying by the fire, asleep.
When Kai woke up, the old man said: “I didn’t know where to hunt for
you. The wind blew so hard I thought you were drowned. I felt badly. I
went all around the lake looking for you. I thought you were dead and I
cried.”
The next morning Natanatas went for rocks; he wanted to heat them and
sweat. When he came home, he said to Kai: “I saw a big deer right here
near the house; you could track it, but you haven’t anything to kill it
with.”
Kai’s wife cried; she said: “Father is trying to kill you. He kills
every man who comes here. He doesn’t want a son-in-law.”
Soon the old man said to Kai: “You must go to the lake and get some
reeds. I will make you arrows to shoot deer and ducks with; I am tired
of eating fish.”
Kai went to the lake, but he couldn’t see any reeds. He looked all
around; then he saw some growing on an island out in the middle of the
lake. He sat down and thought of what he was to do, thought for a long
time. Then white eagle feathers called out to him: “Why do you sit
there so long? You should think of us, then you would get the reeds.”
When he thought of the feathers, he rose up in the air and went to the
island. He got the reeds and went home.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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