1 14 MYTHOLOGIC TEXTS 



iiksht Lgmc-ishash; shtdyakglakpa tgati'dnank; mil tcha'k niitisbt sp^i'sli- 



out the Thuiulvrs; bu hoarkeued standing oatsiilo ; atrougly at lunt when (the awuku 



fire) blazed, 



kslidla Lemd-ish. Huhashtdpka tgki'shtka; "Skelam t6pia gen luelat"! 



the Thundors. Tboy stabbed each with the loDg "Marten's younger him killye"! 



etber bladea; uiother, 



3 jjatak huhashtApkuak. 



tboy stabbed each othei" only. 



Tchiii ndnuk nii'natank tchu'ka; mbAwa steiuasli uu'dshiiuk. Skd- 



Then all by blazing up perished ; exploded (one) heart whilu flying off. Old 



lamtch wd'hl^ank wi-ulaUp6le steinash lu'lukshtat ; pa'n na'sli mbdwa. 



Marten looking on strnok (one) heart in the fire ; again one exploded. 



C 8ka'Iamtcli wi-ulal4p6le ; pa'n na'sh inbAwa, pii'n wi-ulal4p6)e Skdiamtcli. 



Old Marten struck again ; and another burst, .•ii;aiu (when) struck Old Marten. 



one 



Tchashgdyak ham(^xe : "Skdlamtch! nu' tchkasli na'sh wi-ulalek!" tchiii 



Little Weasel said: "OldMartenl I also one will strike!" then 



pa'n mbdwa na'sh. Tchiii Tchashgdyak kd'hhian, tchui steinash hu'k nu- 



again burst one. (l!ut) Weaslet missed, and heart that went 



9 wal^a; Wdkweks shu'waltktcha Tcha'kaksh tu'la, shhl'shlakshga shual;{6ta. 



to the sky ; Magpie flew after it Blackbird with, and picked (it) to pieces, while it flow. 



Slikdlamtch hame%e: "kd-i 1 tua shayuaksh kiuapka, hu'nshak 1 pshe- 



Old Marten said : " nothing you good for will be, in vain you the 



utuashash shnulu'kuapkak." 



people will frighten only." 



12 Tchiii Skdlamtch shndl^a L6md-ish titskd-aksh. 



Then Old Marten burnt Thunders the Old. \ 



NOTES. 



This relation of the myths is more circumstantial than the corresponding one 

 obtained from Dave Hill, which omits some of their characteristic features. We have 

 here an interesting and probably the most popular jjart of the whole cycle of marten- 

 myths known to the Klamath Lake people; the above is not a single myth, but a series 

 of myths, some of them thrown together in a rather loose connection. What connects 

 them all is the fact that Weaslet i.s the constant companion of his older and more saga- 

 cious brother Old Marten, who combines the qualities of Reineke Fox with that of an 

 elementary power of irresistible force (shkaini). The Skelamtch myths present them- 

 selves in the following order: 



1. Selection of the one-eyed females as wives. 



2. The children of the two brothers destroy each other. 



3. The fathers cremate their children's bodies, 

 d. The Winds are exterminated by Skelamtch. 



5. Skelamtch hides a woman before one of the five Thunders. 



6. Skelamtch enters the lodge of the Thunders; the hat on his head acts as a spell 

 and prevents them from entering it. 



7. Old Gray Wolf, Marten, Weasel and the five Thunders are feasting on Jiuman 

 flesh iu the lodge of the Thunders. 



8. Skelamtch sets the lodges of the five Thunders aiul of the two Old Thunders 

 on fire and kills the inmates. 



