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kutenai tales

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country. He did not arise when he was going about, | but crawled on hands and feet. It was almost the best way, || for there is water 10

now where he crawled along. Therefore the rivers have that width.[1] | He crawled along, even where there was much water. He saw Woodpecker and I his brothers sitting in a row on the top of a mountain. |

Woodpecker was still angry at Muskrat, who | had lied at the time when the warriors started off, at the time when the warriors went up (to the sky), || and when Wolverene tore their trail, | and they knew 15 that Muskrat had told a lie. When they wished to come down again, | Wolverene had torn the trail, and they could not go down. | They shot the thunderbird, and they were given its feathers and | down.

There were none for Woodpecker and his brothers. || Then they got 20 angry. They went to the place | where the sun goes down, and there they came down and returned | to their country. When they saw the people, as they were going home, | they killed all. Then they saw a mountain goat not far from | a lake, and they ate the goat. || They saw below Nałmu'qtse crawling along. | Woodpecker was still 25 angry; and when he saw the old man, | he hated him. He knew that Nałmu'qtse was still giving names | to the country. Then he wished to kill his uncle. He said to him: | "Uncle!" Nałmu'qtse heard his nephew. He said: || "Hai!" He was told: "I'll give you 30 to eat. Maybe you are hungry on account of your | going about and giving names to the land." Nałmu'qtse said: | "Oh, I am glad!" He was told: "Open your mouth." Woodpecker | put a stone into the fire and put | the hot stone into the heart of the mountain goat. Then Nałmu'qtse opened his mouth, || and Woodpecker threw the 35 heart into it. Woodpecker had manitou | power, and Nałmu'qtse was the same way. | When Woodpecker reached him, Nałmu'qtse knew that his nephew was evilly disposed | toward him. He nodded to the heart, and it | fell down on one side. Nałmu'qtse said: "E,|| you will be named little Heart." Even though somebody was 40 angry with him, | he gave names to places, because he was walking about this world | in order to give names. | (Woodpecker) was told: "Don't sleep where there is a | thick forest." (Nałmu'qtse) turned around, and said also: "Don't touch the || charr while it is rolling in the water." Then Nalmu'qtse 45 crawled along in the water, | and there it was where Flicker was swallowed by the | Water Monster. | Nałmu'qtse went along. He thought: "I'll stand up for a while. | I'll stretch myself." He stood up and || stretched his back. (I said 50

Nałmu'qtse was large. When | he stood up, his war bonnet touched the sky.) His | war bonnet fell down; and when his hat fell down,


  1. That is, the rivers were formed on the trail which he made by crawling along.
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