356 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 29 



He who (lATHERED FOOD FOR AN EAGLE 



[Told by.Trtcksmi, late chifl' of Skidegatc] 



Ho had ten uncles. The^- gathered food at a certain salmon creek. 

 Then he went up, got ver}" many salmon, and filled his canoe. An 

 eagle sat on a sand l)ar. He split open the salmon, threw them oft' 

 there, and paddled away with an empty canoe. On the next day he 

 again went out, si)lit the salmon open, and threw them oft. After a 

 long time the peoyjle came to know about the eagle. 



They then gathered all kinds of herries. His mother was a widow. 

 His mother looked after his youngest uncle's wife. For that reason 

 he picked wild crab apples and cranberries and gave them to his 

 uncle's wife. And, when they moved awa}', since he and his mother 

 had done the best that they could for his 3'oungest uncle's wife, they 

 stayed with theuL The minds of the rest of his uncles became different 

 toward him, because he had gathered food for the eagle. 



IS'ow they came to the town. After they had stayed in the town 

 for some time, and it was spring, they became hungry. He then 

 went to the wife of one of his uncles, hut she said to him: "Live 

 upon the food that you gathered for- the eagle." He went out and 

 entered another house. There they said the same thing to him. He 

 went into the houses of his ten uncles, and every time the}^ said the 

 same thing to him. When he went into the house of his youngest 

 uncle's wife, they gave him the dorsal tin of a salmon, and he chewed it. 



Now, when it was near the end of spring, they moved away from 

 him. They did not leave even a small piece of old cedar bark in the 

 town. And his youngest uncle's wife explained to his mother. "When 

 they start off, dig about in the place where I sit down to defecate." 



Now, when they pushed off, she was the last. And he dug about in 

 the place where she had sat to defecate. He then found a bag hold- 

 ing a humpback split open and small pieces of food of various kinds. 

 That was the only food obtainable where they were. 



And his youngest uncle left them a little old canoe. And the boy 

 also started oft', not knowing whither he was going. ^ 



[Told by Wl'nats, chief of the Seaward-giti'iis.] 



Far away f I'om where they left him was a rock. One day a ,young 

 eagle sat on the top of the rock. When it tiew away, he (the boy) 

 went to the place. Beside the rock lay the tail of a spring salmon. 

 He picked it up and brought it to his mother. She steamed it, and 

 they drank the soup. 



