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Boas]
Kutenai Tales
235

thought it was | a line. It was painted red. He put it on his back. When he arose, | the tump line broke. Then Skunk said: "Oh, | I broke my brother's tump line!" Then it became cold.||

When Skunk started, Fisher said : "Now | come out! Why did you come here early? Later on, | when I came back, then you ought to have come. Now eat meat! | After you have eaten, we will move away." Then the sisters ate | meat. ||

When they had eaten, they were told: "Now let us move! Skunk is bad. | He has manitou power. He will kill us all." Fisher said: | "There in the corner of the tent are all his rotten bones. Take them all out." | Then the sisters took out Skunk's | bones. |

Fisher said: "Where shall we go? Skunk knows the place where my tent is." | Chipmunk said: "Let us go to my tent!" | Then they started. They entered; but Fisher could not | go in, for it was too small. Then Big Chipmunk said: "Let us go | to my tent!" When they arrived, they went in, but Fisher could not go || in. Fisher said: "Then let us go to my tent, | although Skunk knows the place of my tent!" | Then Fisher worked his manitou power, and two trees stood there. He transformed himself, | and became a real fisher. He transformed one | of his wives, and she became a real big chipmunk; || and he transformed his other wife, and she became | a real chipmunk. Then they climbed one of the trees. |

They staid there. Then Skunk, when there was a wind storm, | which Fisher had made, and therefore it was cold, thought his | elder brother would cause him to freeze to death. Then Skunk was cold. || He left his tump line at the door. He did not know that it was entrails. | He thought: "I'll leave this meat." | Then, when it was dark, he left it. He went on. When he came back, | he knew that they had moved camp. There was no fire. Then | he cried. He thought: "I'll die, because it is cold." || Skunk said: (?) "Chief, chief!"[1] | He looked for his rotten bones. They were all gone. Then he saw | that there was one rotten bone in a hole. He went in. He was glad. | He thought: 'Now I am saved." | He staid there that night. Early in the morning he was heard talking. || Then the sisters were asked: "Big Chipmunk, did you take out all | his rotten bones?" Big Chipmunk said: "I took them all." | Chipmunk said: "There is one bone that I did not take." Then Fisher said: | "Then Skunk will kill us all. He is bad. | That rotten bone is his manitou. Now he can not die. || He will make war on us." | Skunk came out. He sang. He worked his manitou power. | Then he became a real skunk. Long ago the skunk was large. | He killed


  1. My interpreter could not translate this sentence.