|
Thompson - Coyote and his Guests
Coyote thought he would visit Wood-Tick (Kitse'in), who lived in a house under a high rock. Wood Tick lived on deer, which he obtained by striking this rock with his magic staff. If he desired one deer, he went up to the rock and struck it once; and if he wished four deer, he struck the rock with his staff four times; and immediately that number of deer fell down from the top of the cliff.
Now Coyote knew how Wood-Tick managed to procure his food. He also knew the valuable properties of his magic staff, and therefore he desired to obtain possession of it. When Coyote reached Wood-Tick's house, he was invited to enter. As there was no meat in the house at the time, Wood Tick said he would go and procure a deer for his guest; but Coyote said, "You need not trouble. If you loan me your staff, I shall go and get one for you." Coyote knew that Wood-Tick was a lazy individual and did not care about travelling much. Wood-Tick assented to Coyote's proposal, and gave him his staff, but before his departure gave strict injunctions to Coyote not to strike the rock more than four times. When Coyote reached the cliff, he struck it four times, and a deer fell down each time. Then he said to himself, "Why should I not strike it oftener?" so he struck it the fifth time, but no deer fell down. Then he struck it for the sixth and seventh times, but with like results. When he struck it the eighth time, the four deer became alive, and, jumping up, ran away.
Now Coyote threw off his blanket, and, following the deer, ran to Wood-Tick's house as fast as he could, but arrived just in time to see Wood-Tick going off riding on one of the deer's ears. Looking around in the house, he saw some deer fat in one corner. Taking hold of it, he swallowed it, saying, "I will have something to eat, anyway;" but the fat came up again, and, jumping out of his mouth, ran away. Seeing some deer-bones near the fire, he reached to take hold of them, but, just as his fingers almost touched them, they got up and ran away. Every bit of deer fat, meat, blood, and bone ran away, so Coyote was left without anything to eat.
Taken from: Mythology of the Thompson River Indians - Myths and Tales of the Uta'mqt collected by James Alexander Teit, 1911
|
