Haida texts and myths

War between the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao and the Inlet-rear-town people

Reading edition

[Told by Richard of the Middle-gîtî′ns]

He (the leader) remained then during the night on one side of an islet. There, while he was trying to get a chance to shoot hair seal, a gun sounded from across the point. Then a boy who was in his canoe shouted like one who is shot. “Wa′nanî, wa′nanî; they shot me.”

Some time afterward a whale floated into the inlet. They went then to get it, and with the Inlet-rear-town people they jointly cut it up. One of the Inlet-rear-town people was killed there with a war spear. They started at once to fight again. They then again killed each other. At that time all the sharpshooters among the Inlet-rear-town people were destroyed.

The first of these families was spoken of in “Story of the House-point families” notes; the second was one of several divisions of the Rear-town people referred to in note 6 to “Story of the Food-giving-town people.” My informant’s father belonged to the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao or to a related family, hence his sympathies were rather on their side.

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Notes in this chapter

Note 1 · Said to have been so named because they occupied the rear row of the five in this town. They are reputed to have occupied a similar position Note 2 · A stream, still so named in the charts, which flows into the upper expansion of Masset inlet from the west. ↑Note 3 · The companion of the man who had been shot, or possibly the man himself had merely been injured. ↑Note 4 · Descent being counted through the mother, sons were bound to their mothers by closer social ties than were husbands to wives. ↑Note 5 · Wives being of the opposite clan, other families would have been dragged into the struggle had any of the women been struck. To avoid this t Note 6 · The native name for most of what now constitutes the town of Masset. ↑Note 7 · This was on the opposite side of Masset inlet, farther down. Many of the house frames are still standing. ↑Note 8 · He is said, however, although covered with wounds, to have been preserved from death by a medicine which he had gone on purpose to test. ↑Note 9 · The smallpox. ↑Note 10 · They lived together in the town of Masset. In the fall they went up the inlet to dry salmon. They camped then on both sides of A′-în.1 After Note 11 · One who was with him jumped off then. Then he asked: “Who did it? Who did it?” Instead of answering, they pulled away from him, and he shot Note 12 · Some time after that, during the night, the child came home crying. He told his friends what had happened. The Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao and the Inl Note 13 · By and by they went away. After the men of both families had got into two canoes they fought in their canoes all the way down. But the women Note 14 · On the next morning they fought each other again. And, since the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao landed at White-slope5 first, the Inlet-rear-town people Note 15 · After that they again began to fight each other. Then many were killed on both sides. They fought through the winter and through the summer Note 16 · Some time afterward a chief of the Inlet-rear-town people destroyed a whole canoe load of the Eggs-of-Skî′tg̣ao. The war began again at once