Blaiwas and the Head by Jeremiah Curtin

CHARACTERS / Blaiwas Eagle / Dásläts Panther / Ndúkis Hawk / Tcûskai Weasel / Wûlkûtska Marten

Blaiwas, Dásläts, Wûlkûtska, and other strong men, lived in a house on a high mountain. They were head men, and all the people around brought them meat. One day, Blaiwas said: "We had better let old man Ndúkis divide our meat. " They called Tcûskai, a fast runner, and sent him for Ndúkis.

Ndúkis had four brothers and a mother, and he lived in a brush house-just as we did long ago. Ndúkis went to Blaiwas' house and divided the meat; he ate some, but he didn't carry any to his mother or his brothers.

The next morning, when the head men were starting off to hunt, Ndúkis went with them. He hunted all day, but caught only one mouse. He ate the mouse and went home.

Blaiwas sent again for Ndúkis to come and divide the meat; when he had divided it the men began to make fun of him for being such a poor hunter. They made him open his mouth and then they threw meat into it. When he had swallowed all the meat he could, they sent him home.

Old woman Wûlkûtska and her two daughters lived at the foot of the mountain. There was no one to kill game for them, and sometimes the mother was almost starved. One day she said to her daughters: "Great hunters live on the top of the mountain; they always have lots of deer meat. You must go there and get husbands."

One of the girls asked: "How can we go; we don't know where their house is?"

The mother said: "There is only one big house. You will know Blaiwas when you see him, for he flies without moving his wings."

When the girls came to the top of the mountain, they sat down to rest and watch for Blaiwas. They hadn't been there long when they saw Ndúkis coming.

He was out of breath, for it was hard for him to fly high.

The elder sister said: "There is Blaiwas; he flies just as mother said he did."

The younger sister said: "No, that isn't Blaiwas. " They watched him till he flew down among the rocks; then the elder sister said: "His house is down there; we must follow him."

When Ndúkis got home, he was so nearly dead that he fell into the house. His mother jumped on him, and asked: "What is the matter? " (He knew that the girls were watching him and he had tried to fly as Blaiwas did.) The old woman kept asking what had happened, but Ndúkis wouldn't tell.

When the sisters came in sight of the house, the elder said: "That is Blaiwas' house."

The younger said: "Mother told us that Blaiwas' house was large; that one is small. It isn't Blaiwas' house. " The elder sister scolded her and pulled her along.

When Ndúkis saw the girls coming, he told his mother to hurry and fix a good place for them to sit.

"What shall I fix it with? " asked the old woman. They had no mats or blankets.

"Oh, anything," said Ndúkis. "You must watch, and if the girls sit down near the house, you must bring them in. They are sisters; they saw me flying and they followed me."

When the girls came to the top of the house, the old woman told Ndúkis. He turned his eyes up, as Blaiwas did, and sent her to bring them in. The girls saw him turn his eyes, and the elder said: "Yes, that is Blaiwas. See what big eyes he has. " She went in and sat down by him.

When Blaiwas and the head men came home, they sent Tcûskai to tell Ndúkis to come and divide the meat. Ndúkis said: "Why do they always send for the chief to divide their meat? I am tired of it. " He didn't want to leave the girls.