The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1900-12-17
INTEIIIGENCER.
LEGENDS Of THE BLACKFEET.
ONE OF INTENSE INTEREST RE-
LATED BY A SAGE.
the Number of Years That Have
PASSED Since He Was Born-His
story of n Great Indian Battle.


section Of British Columbia abounds In
legendary lore, and Of all the stories stil
told by the old men of the aboriginal
tribes around the campfire at night, none
Is Of more tragic interest than one relat-
ed by Skom-ne-lo. sage of the Colyilles,
whose age no one attempts TO guess with
any degree of accuracy, and who, when
asked concerning this subject. points TO
an immense pine tree which grows near
his lodge and says, in his mixture of bro
ken English and Chinook jargon, my son,
j have seen the time when my friend
there and / were the same height, but
l was stronger than he, for could bend
him to the ground" / have spent many
an hour with the aged Indian, leaning
against the pine while we both smoked
my tobacco. and listening to his tales of
adventure. One night, after he had 81
lently wooed Lady Nicotine" for upwards
of an hour, he laid his pipe aside and
said:
My son. will tell you OF the Black
Feet and Of how my tribe, who have al
ways been peaceable people, defeated
the war party from beyond the big hills
we and our father Toy-e-be. Cfoy-e-be
Is the Indian name for Kettle river. IL
was many years ago. before the Hudson
Bay Company brought rifles and whisky
TO us, before the white men came and
stole our women, leaving us smallpox and
boils In return. before the priests had
showed us how to get TO hell The Black
feet had big hunting grounds OFF there
NEW from th n ans c TheIr many Gays tn
and strong. and their number was as
the sand In the bed of Toy-e-be. Seldom
did they send war party so far from
nome as to reach us, but sometimes
band of their young men would come into
this valley, and then we used to fight. yes.
We could fight In those days-before We
had whisky and hell--for had we not
homes to preserve and our women to'pro-
tect?
Blackfeet ON warpath.
'One time when the leaves had just be-
gun to die three hundred of the Black
feet braves passed to the north of us
as the o-kan-o-s gan. The tribes in the
north had no hearts. and the Blackfeet
took many scalps, and all the food they
through the land as the goose flies, like
a wedge, with their strong men in front
and on the wings, and their wounded and
prisoners only to carry their food and
would torture them when they returned
to their own land. but We were merclful
and gave them quicker death. They
came down the O-kan-o-gan lakes and
across the He-he trail to this river. Then
they built canoes and came down toward
us.
II was young man then. and was the
fastest runner In my tribe. On that day
! was hunting mowitch (deer) a long days
journey up the river. / saw the Black
icet III tneir Canoes ana they were sing
ing. their war songs and telling how they
had vanqushed every tribe they had
met. But victory had made them over
proud. and they were careless. | knew
that they would camp for the night be-
fore coming to the lodges Of my tribe, but
In the morning what would become Of
my people? So ran. and the sun hunt
nd his he'd I'm the salt water no faster
than I hunted the lodge OF my father
Night came and ran on. for I had eyes
In the dark. and the trail sped under my
.4tt.
bushes kissed me in the face and babe me
run faster. All. the woods were good to
me in those days. l stopped only for a
moment to battle my face In the river
little of the cold water. So In the middle
OF the night came into my fathers lodge
and tod him what had seen. My father
was chief OF the tribe He told me TO
waken the men, and while | was gone he
sat with his face in his hands. thinking
When returned with all the men ne
making us all glad; for my father aSss
very wise. and we knew that his smile
meant death to Or enemies and life to
us.
Dashed to Death.
so in the early morning we were all
hid In the bushes by the river In front OF
Ten-as-ket's lodge. about four hours
journey up the river. and the women had
low us. Soon we saw the sBlackfeet com
Ing, and they were not singing now.
but bending to their paddles and making
the river foam. When they came near us
We shouted our war cry, and sent our ar
rows among them like cloud. Many
fell into the water but the rest padded
to the shore formed a wedge and
charged. Nothing could stand before that
terrible wedge and we ran till we reached
our canoes Then we padded down the
river az fast as we could, while they re-
turned to their canoes and gave chase.
You know the place about days walk
below here. where Tuy-e-be has cut a hole
through the mountain, where nothing
can pass and live. and where even big
trees are torn into splipters on the rocks.
Well. when we came around the bend at
the top OF this canyon. We pulled our ca
noes out OF the water and hid them in
the bushes. Then we waited, Soon the
Blackfeet came along, their canoes leap
ing from the water, so earnest we're they
in their determination TO come up with
us IL they had not been blinded by
anger they would have seen the water
on the rocks where We lifted our canoes
out. but they saw nothing. neither did
they hear the roar Of Toy-e-be as he
tore through the mountain. When thew
had all entered the gorge We jumped
from the bushes and called Thorn TO re-
turn. But Toy-e-be had them In his crap
and ne is stronger in hts wrath than any
living thing. For a moment they strug-
gled against the current, and then they
disappeared
we could run. 20 where the river comes
out Of the gorge, and there Heating
around In the whirlpool We're bits of ca
noes and on the rocks were some ~
the men. but no one could tell that they
had ever borne human shape, for thew
were Ike Jelly. We nushsd them back
into the water and let tho river take
them down toward the sea. Toy hal
killed them. and 70 Toy-e-bo they be
ionged. We took no scalps, Tor our IA n
er, the river. might be angry " We took
from him the credit 81 the victory.
when the Blackfee, ssut out party
TO look for their young men we wers
% AZ. fnr fhArn fnr al the frilaa in his