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Boas]
Kutenai Tales
193

Coyote was talking all the time. ǁ He pointed at everything, so that 35 his friend should | not look at the place where he was to step. | Then they had almost arrived at the pit. The pit was | hardly visible because it was a trap. If anything goes along there, | it falls into it; everything—deer, grizzly bear, ǁ everything—dies there in the pit. 40 The friends went there. | They arrived; and while Coyote was pointing at different things, | he pushed his friend. He threw him into the pit. | Coyote looked, and said: "Hya, friend! I shall have no | way of getting you out, for the pit is deep." He just said so on purpose. ǁ He said to him: "Throw up your clothing, | then I'll get 45 you up." Coyote pulled | his friend slightly. He could not get him up with his tail. His blanket | was his tail. Therefore he told him that he could not do any more, | but he was telling him a lie. He did not pull. Then Tree Chief ǁ threw up his war bonnet. 50 He threw up everything, | Then he was without clothing. Coyote said: "Spit up your spittle." | Then Tree Chief had no more spittle. | It became sea shells. | A sparrow hawk was sitting on his head. When ǁ he spat, his spittle changed into shells, and | the sparrow 55 hawk ate them. When | Coyote had taken everything, he left. He had | a shield. He had a tomahawk. He had a war bonnet. He had the sparrow hawk. | His clothing was fringed. ǁ

He arrived at the town. He came out on a prairie, | and shouted. 60 The people said: "Oh, Tree Chief has arrived!" | He was coming along. He came nearer, and arrived at | the town. He was told: "There is the tent of the chief!" They thought | that he was coming to marry the chief's ǁ daughter, according to what the chief had said. 65 He entered, and the place was ready prepared for him, | because he was a chief. His wife | was glad when he came. The girl did not know | that he was Coyote. He had staid at this town already. | When he came back, she did not know that he was (not) her husband. ǁ She was glad. Coyote sat down. He had the sparrow hawk. | 70 When he spat, the sparrow hawk would fly down | to eat the shells. Then it flew back | to his head. When his sisters-in-law knew that | his spittle was thus, they took it, and ǁ the bird would not eat any 75 more. It was not long before the sparrow hawk was starving. | Then Coyote let the sparrow hawk starve, and he had no saliva. | Now, the chief had made a mistake. | The name of the chief was Golden Eagle. |

85543°—Bull. 59—18——13