The Whale House of the ChilkatEmmons, George Thornton
History
The Whale House of the Chilkat
Emmons, George Thornton
Chilkat Indians; Indians of North America -- Dwellings
Even the girls made fun of him and asked him what he could
do, for he was like them, and he said that he could bail the canoe,
which was a woman's or child's work. He washed and put on clean clothes
and going to his grandmother said, "You have no tlhan," (strips of fur
woven into blankets); "you have no da" (martin skin). She answered,
"Yes" and gave him a strip of fur with which he tied up his front hair,
taken in a bunch (this was done when one felt angry), and he dabbed his
mouth with red paint, but still the people laughed at him, although he
looked like a chief. Then the canoe started for the sealion grounds and
while Kash-ka-di boasted of his great strength and what he would do,
Duck-toolh sat silently in the bottom of the canoe. When they reached
the rocks Kash-ka-di jumped out and grabbing a great sealion by its
hind flippers tried to tear it in two, but he was thrown high in the
air and killed on the rocks. Then Duck-toolh laughed and said, "Who
broke the tree," "I break it," and he jumped on the rock and grabbed
the sealion and tore it apart, beat the brains out of the smaller ones,
and for some unknown reason he wound the intestines of the animals
around his head. Then they loaded the canoe with the carcasses and
returned home and everyone knew that Duck-toolh was strength and he
became a very powerful and wealthy man. Some versions of this story say
that he remained alone on the island for some time during which the
spirit of the doctor came to him, but my informant knew nothing of
this.
YEHLH-GARS.
The carved post on the right of the ornamental screen was named
Yehlh-Gars "Raven Post," and told the story of the capture of Ta "the
king salmon." The main figure shows the Raven in human form holding a
head with a projecting blade-like tongue, which is known as Tsu-hootar
"jade adze." At the bottom is the head of a fish which should have been
that of the king salmon, but through a mistake of the carver it
resembles more nearly that of the sculpin. Coming out of the mouth of
the Raven is a bird form called Tu-kwut-lah-Yehlh, "telling lies
raven," which symbolizes the lies the Raven told to the little birds
mentioned in the story. (Plate 4_a_.)
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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