CHINOOK 

 BOAS 



] * STIKUA' myth TRANSLATION. 141 



But Blue-Jay said: "What do you want to do? The confounded 

 waves will carry you away." But the boy replied: '' 1 must go." 



In the morning they made tliemselves ready for the third time. The 

 boy went down to the beach and took hold of the canoe. But Blue- 

 Jay pushed him aside and said : " What do you want here? Go to the 

 house." The boy cried and went up to the house. [When he turned 

 back] Blue- Jay said: "Now paddle away. We will leave him." The 

 people began to paddle and soon they reached the sealion island. 

 The hunter went ashore and speared one large sealion. It jumped and 

 drifted on the water [dead]. They hauled it toward the shore, landed, 

 pulled it up and singed it. They finished singeing it. Then they carved 

 it and boiled it, and when it was done they began to eat. Blue- J ay 

 said : " Let us eat it all, nobody must speak about it, else our chief's son 

 will always want to accompany us." A little [meat] was still left when 

 they had eaten enough. Eaven tried to take a piece along. He tied 

 it to his leg and said his leg was broken. Blue-Jay burned all that was 

 left over. Then he said to Raven: *•• Lee me see your leg." He jumped 

 at it, untied it and found the piece of meat at Raven's leg. He took 

 it and burned it. In the evening they gathered large and small mus- 

 sels. Then they went home. When they were near home Blue-Jay 

 shouted: '• Stikua', fetch your mussels!" Then noise of many feet 

 [was heard] and Stikua' [her children and the other women] came down 

 to the beach and carried the mussels up to the house. The [women 

 and children] and the chief's son ate the mussels all night. Then 

 that boy said: '^To-morrow I shall accompany you." Blue- Jay said: 

 "What do you want to do? You will drift away. If I had not taken 

 hold of the canoe I should have drifted away twice." 



On the next morning they made themselves ready for the fourth 

 time. The boy rose and made himself ready also. The people hauled 

 their canoes into the water and went aboard. The boy tried to board 

 the canoe also, but Blue-Jay took hold of him and threw him into the 

 water. He stood in the water up to his waist. He held the canoe, but 

 Blue- Jay struck his hands. There he stood. He cried, and cried, and 

 went up to the house. The people went ; they paddled and soon they 

 reached the sealion island. The hunter went ashore and speared a 

 sealion. It jumped and drifted on the water [dead]. Again they 

 towed it to the island and pulled it ashore. They singed it. When 

 they had finished singeing it they carved it and boiled it. When it 

 was done Blue- Jay said: "Let us eat it here." They ate half of it and 

 were satiated. They slept because they had eaten too much. Blue- 

 Jay awoke first and burned all that was left. In the evening they 

 gathered large and small mussels and went home. When they were 

 near the shore he shouted: "Stikua', fetch your mussels!" Noise of 

 many feet [was heard] and Stikua' [her children and the other women] 

 came running down to the beach and carried up the nnissels. The 

 boy said: "To-morrow I shall accompany you." But Blue- Jay replied : 



