want to see her at this time. Now she turns and goes back at the same
swift speed and at this time all of the girls that she sent for are
in their place where they dance. The ground is all fixed, having been
scooped out leaving a depression some four feet deep and twenty feet
across, gently sloping to the center. Normer comes up to the dancers
and passes on in a westerly direction down the river until she comes to
a woman who has been a Normer before her and tells her where to turn to
the river, where she bathes herself, then turns back and walks to where
the girls are dancing and sits down in front of them and urges them to
sing louder and dance faster. These Wa-clures stand erect moving the
body forward and backward by the action of the knees, raising first
one foot and then the other. Normer keeps watch of the sun and as it
is getting low and it is getting time for all to come, she raises to
a kneeling position and bids the Wa-clures to sing louder and dance
faster, they then move very lively. Normer is the absolute ruler of
her people as she is the child of God’s own purity. Then comes Lock
with Lock-nee closely behind and thirdly comes the boy, Charrah, with
the same basket that Normer left at the pole and which is now full of
water, and as Lock walks up to Normer the girls all drop down and hover
over Normer, then Lock and Lock-nee drop over them, then the boy who
has the basket of water lowers his hand and throws the basket, water
and all as high up in the air as he can and the water comes down over
them in a shower. As the boy throws the basket and water up in the air
he and all of the boys drop down over the others, hovering over Normer
like a swarm of bees hovering over the queen. This is done for her
protection, for now come all the workers, each one having a long pole
on the top of which are tied the bark ribbons and fancy carved Indian
pipes that the boys made, and as they come running up they form a half
circle around the heap letting the long heavy poles fall over them with
a crash which is done so quickly that it is very hard to see how it is
done, and just as quickly the whole heap raises up out of this place
and place themselves in fours for the next move. At this time if Normer
was silly enough she could command every man, woman and child to lie
flat on their abdomens and go without eating for another twenty-four
hours, as all must obey her commands, no matter what they might be. Now
the fish dam is completed and all go to their camps. Normer goes to
the lodge with Lock, while Lock-nee secures and takes to her the first
salmon taken from the fish dam and Lock-nee cuts out from the middle
of this salmon enough for her supper, while no one else can eat of the
salmon until the next day. Every thing now becomes quiet for an hour,
as they are all taking their evening meal. Then first one than another
will begin to inquire about Normer and her health. Now all depends upon
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account