Indian Legends of Vancouver Island | Page 9

sea lice clinging to their
silver sides, and their hearts were happy with that refrain, which spoke
to them of great supplies of food.

Early next day, before the forest trees were gilded by the glorious rising
sun, the people heard the call of many birds, and looking northward
where the Tsomass flows, forth from the mist, which in the early
morning hangs like a veil of gauze among the trees, they saw a flock of
Sand Hill cranes appear. They flew far above their heads and gradually
ascending to the sky, vanished from their sight. These were the
maidens, so the Indians say, who left behind them all this lovely land
for regions unexplored, taking with them both clams and mussels. This
is the reason Indians give for the lack of these shell-fish now, upon the
shores of the great inland sea. The maidens also took the Kwa-nis bulbs,
but as they flew they dropt a few upon the ground, hence the Kwa-nis
bulb is still found in Tsomass land.
Wick-in-in-ish, with his sons, now made haste to paddle to the river
mouth, but lo, the house was gone, no sign of it was left, and with it all
the klootsmah tribe had fled. Then he turned to Ha-houlth-thuk-amik
and said, "This is thy land, and this thy future home shall be; thou and
thy chosen one Kla-kla-as-suks shall dwell therein, and may thy
children be many."

THE LEGEND OF EUT-LE-TEN
EXPLANATION OF "THE LEGEND OF EUT-LE-TEN"
As stated in the introduction, the details for this story were given by the
late Indian missionary, Mr. M. Swartout, who received them direct
from the Indians of Dodger's Cove, Barkley sound, in the year 1897.
The reader will recognize in this legend the Indian equivalent for
Hansel and Gretel, Jack the Giant Killer, Jack and the Bean stalk, and
other stories of childhood days.
It is not likely that the exploits of Eut-le-ten were considered by the
older Indians to be the product of imagination, and most probably they
believed that some time in the distant past, a supernatural being called
Eut-le-ten was born and lived and performed extraordinary feats and
taught them wonderful things.
This is an Ohyaht Indian story. The chief village of the Ohyahts was at
a bay called Keeh-him between Bamfield and Cape Beale, Barkley
Sound.
THE LEGEND OF EUT-LE-TEN
THE WITCH E-ISH-SO-OOLTH

Long, long ago, in the gloom of deep and silent woods there lived a
witch or evil chehah. The Indians called her E-ish-so-oolth. So tall was
she that, stalking through the forest, her head would brush the lower
branches of the giant fir.
She dwelt in a huge lodge, the walls of which were built of cedar logs
as thick as men are high. This evil chehah was the dread of young and
old alike, for all believed that boys and girls and even men and women,
who left their homes, not to return again, were taken to her lodge, there
to be devoured at leisure. Therefore mothers often said, when children
misbehaved, "Be good or I will call E-ish-so-oolth."
One day some Keeh-hin village children paddled from their home and
landed on a nearby shore. Then something happened causing one to cry,
and all the others scolding, threatened to call E-ish-so-oolth. The threat
had no effect and the child cried on, till one in teasing spirit called
loudly, "E-ish-so-oolth! E-ish-so-oolth! Oh come E-ish-so-oolth!"
Then forth from the woods a figure stalked, a tall gaunt form of terrible
aspect. She leaned upon a gnarled and knotty stick and scanning the
beach with cruel eyes she cried, "Who called me by my name
E-ish-so-oolth?"
The children screamed and tried to run away; the chehah laughed one
awful fiendish laugh, then caught them one by one with her lean hands.
With the sticky gum of Douglas fir, she sealed their little jet black eyes
so that they could not see which way led left or right, and threw them in
the basket on her back, starting for home along the lonely forest trail.
As I have said, E-ish-so-oolth was tall, and many times bent her head to
pass beneath low and spreading branches, and so it happened when
stooping under a tree which brushed the basket top, four little hands
gripped tightly hold of a kindly branch and held on fast.
When E-ish-so-oolth had gone on further not missing the two children,
they clambered down, and partly freed their eyes from the vile pitch,
running for home as fast as they could go. To their mothers they told
the story, and how their playmates of that very morning, were now
perchance within the witch's lodge, and no help to save them from a
bloody fate. Then all the mothers of the kidnapped girls chanted the
weird and