330 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull.29 



how a red feathkr pulled up some people in the town of 



Gu'nwa 



[Told l)y Walter McGregor of the Scalion-towii people] 



The town children were knocking a woody excrescence^ buck and 

 forth. After they had played for a while they began saying " Haskwa'."^ 

 The niece of the town chief was nien.struant for the tirst time. She 

 sat behind the screens.^ 



After they had played for a while a red feather floated along in the 

 air above them. B}" and by a child seized the feather. His hand 

 stuck to it. ■ Something pulled him up. And one seized him by the 

 feet. When he was also pulled up another grasped his feet in turn. 

 After this had gone on for a while all the people in the town were 

 pulled up. 



Then the one who was menstruant did not hear them talking in the 

 house. She was surprised, and looked toward the door. There was 

 no one in the house. Then she went outside. There were no people 

 about the town. Then she went into the houses. She saw that the}^ 

 were all empty. 



Then she began to walk about weeping. She put her belt on. 

 Then she blew her nose and wiped it on her shoulder. And she put 

 shavings her brothers had been playing with inside of her blanket. 

 Feathers and wild crab apple wood, pieces of cedar bark,* and mud 

 from her l)rothers' footprints she put into her blanket. 



By and by; without having been married, she became pregnant. 

 Soon she gave birth. Again she became pregnant. Again she bore 

 a boy. After this had gone on for some time, the youngest came out 

 with medicine in his mouth. He had a blue hole in his cheek. With 

 a girl they were ten. 



And she started to rear them. She brought home all kinds of food 

 that was in the town. She gave this to her children to eat. Very 

 soon they grew up. Tiiej^ began playing about the house. 



By and by one of them asked their mother: "Sa}^! mother, what 

 town lies here empty r' And his mother said to him: "Why! my 

 child, your uncles' town lies here empty.'" Then she began telling 

 the story. The children of this town used to go out playing skTtql'a'-i- 

 g.adaii. Then a red feather floated around above them. I sat behind 

 the planks. There I discovered that the town lay empty, and I was 

 the only one left. There I bore you." Like this she spoke to them. 



Then they asked their mother what was called "skitqla'-ig.adAn.''' 

 Then she said to them: "The}' smoothed the surface of a woody 

 excresence, and they played with it here." 



Then they went to get one. They worked it, and, after the}^ had 



