Page:Kutenai Tales.djvu/226

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Kutenai Tales
211

At night Coyote said to his wife: "Oh, ǀ tell your father to look at his fortune-telling place." Coyote started. ǀ Now, Coyote was going to play. Early in the morning ǁ Golden Eagle looked at his fortune telling place. There were no tracks. He came in again. ǀ Coyote went along. There was some manure. ǀ He piled it up; and after piling it up, he yelled ǀ at the buffaloes; but the buffalo manure did not move. He tried to drive the buffaloes, ǀ but he could not move them. He ran back. ǁ He went along, and came to the town. He went up a hill, ǀ and he said: "The buffaloes have dispersed." He shouted | his words. He said: "The bridegroom is staying with his wife!" | He meant Tree Chief by these words. (They ǀ used to call bridegrooms those who had not been married long.) ǁ Then the people || of the town went down when Coyote had said this. ǀ They laughed at him, because the day before many buffaloes had been killed; ǀ but now they did not move. The people prepared the meat ǀ and the skins. Then Coyote entered his tent, ǀ and Tree Chief lay there. Coyote said also ǁ what Tree Chief had said before, when he spoke on the hill. ǀ Tree Chief arose. He said to Coyote: ǀ "What did you say? Say it again. Don't you know what you did ǀ when you pushed me into the trap of Wolf?" ǀ Then Tree Chief took a firebrand. ǁ He wanted to kill Coyote. He might have killed him. Therefore ǀ he took up the firebrand. Then Coyote was struck. ǀ He was struck while he was running out. He was told: "We shall never meet again. ǀ If you want to die, come back to me."

That is the end of the story of Tree Chief. ǁ He would have been the greatest one ǀ if he had not fought with Coyote. ǀ

(g) The End of the World

Now I'll finish the story of Tree ǀ Chief's fight with Coyote. ǀ

When Coyote and his friend fought, ǁ Coyote was beaten away westward. ǀ Coyote was being beaten. Although we do not know ǀ the place where the sun goes down, there Coyote was left. ǀ He was told: "You shall stay here. Don't ǀ go about any more through the whole world. Later on, at the end of the world, ǁ I'll see you again. I shall go back that way ǀ where the sun rises. There I shall stay. When ǀ the chief says that this world shall be no more, then I'll ǀ arise. I'll