Texts of the North American Indian

Writings of E.S. Curtis
Excerpts from "The North American Indian" Set #254, Vol. 8

A chief, weary of hunting, sat on a hill overlooking the river, and as he idly sighted along an arrow to observe if it was perfectly straight, he saw that it pointed toward a black object lying on a rock which projected from the rushing water. He went closer, until he could discern that it was a person holding one baby on a shoulder and another under an arm. This person had very long nails on fingers and toes, and at the approach of the man it slipped into the water, leaving the babies on the rock. The chief waded out, took them in his arms, and started for the shore. But the water was suddenly much deeper than before, and at his third step he abandoned one of the infants, which immediately disappeared beneath the surface. At the same time the water fell, and his fifth step brought him to land. He reached home safely, and submerged the tiny creature in a bowl of water outside the house.

One day the the water bubbled. The next morning the ground about the bowl was damp, and on the third day the chief awoke to find a large area wet. On the fourth morning traces of foam were seen high up on the wall of the house, and during the following night the man heard a lound bubbling and saw water rushing violently into the house. With his motherless child he hurriedly made his escape through the roof, and wading through the water which covered the ground he seized the bowl and made for the hills. Water continued to bubble forth from it, and the man decided to release the little creature, which immediately went into Deschutes river near Warm Springs. This was the male. The female which had been dropped into the Columbia, had gone up that river searching for her father, and failing to find him had passed to the sea and there remained. The male went down into the Columbia and then up Hood river, at the head of which he took his abode. There the bubbling noise is still sometimes heard, and it is always followed by a disturbance in the atmosphere.

The End

EDWARD S. CURTIS