Manchester Democrat. [volume] (Manchester, Iowa) 1875-1930, 1906-06-27
THE WHALE-KILLING CANOE OF
SKIDEGATE.

SfhANOG VI
SYNDICATE.
Cunaa was the pretty little daugh-
ter of the Chief Of Skidegate. One
day when she went to pick berries she
upset her basket four times after
she had almost filled it. "There!"
said she pettishly, I'm not going to
pick another berry. | am going home"
And homeward she started alone,
across the tundra land.
Soon she met man and a woman
Of strange appearance, who stopped
her and asked her who she was, says
the New York News.
my father is Chief of Skidegate,"
said the girl proudly, and he has a
magic canoe which can eat up
whales
"Oh OH" said the man. rs that so?
l think know that chief and that
canoe" With that the woman snatched
the child, wrapped her blanket about
her and ran away with her.
After travelling great distance they
came to town. They took her to a
large house and gave her into the
care of an old woman.
When they had gone the old woman
said:
"Well, l will tell you something.
These people are the killer-whale peo-
pie. Every one of them has dorsal
fin growing out of his back between
the shoulder blades. When they go
into the water they become killer
whales, and they have brought you
here to try and change you into one OF
the killer-whale people like them
selves. Tomorrow they will bring
IN whales fin and try to fit it on
between your shoulder blades. They
brought me here to make killer
whale out of me, but ate some for
hidden food and became half stone,
and they decided that killer-whale
half stone would not float, SO they let
me alone"
Just before daybreak the woman
who was half stone woke Gunan and
gave her comb, a lock of her hair. 4
bottle of hair oil and milestone.
81 hear them coming with the whale
I'm to fix on your back" she said.
snow run and when they get too
close to you drop one of the things
have given you"
When the killer-whale people be-
gan to gain on her she dropped the
comb. 1t changed into a great mass
Of fallen trees, over which the killer
whale people struggled with diff
Guilty.
( But they got over and got close to
her again. Then she threw away
the lock of hair and it became a great
mass of underbrush.
The third time they came near her
Gunan poured out the hair oil, which
became a great lake, and her par
euers lost time because they had to
run around it. The fourth time they
came near to her the girl struck
the milestone in the ground, and 1t
became great, high cliff over which
the killer-whale people could not
climb.
Hurrying through the woods, Gunan
came to an inlet of the sea, and there
to her great joy, she saw her father
In his magic canoe going toward the
killer1whale village in search Of his
lost daughter.
The chief struck the edge of the ca
noe and it went out from the shore.
He struck it again and it turned and
went toward Skidegate. He did not
have to paddle at all. But they had
not gone far when they heard great
commotiQn behind them, and saw a
great school of killer-whales coming
after them.
The chief struck the canoe three
times and it turned and began to fight
with the killer-whales. The canoe had
q beak on it like the beak of an eagle,
only it was much larger and had sharp
teeth in 1t. Every time the canoe
struck killer-whale with Its beak the
whale died.
Seeing that they could not win the
fight alone, the killer-whales cried
for help, and crowd of grizzly bears
came swimming off to join them. The
canoe turned on the bears and bit
their heads off as fast as they came
UP. Then the killer-whales called for
the wolves, and a great crowd Of
wolves came swimming.
The canoe was pretty savage by
this tine, and 1t bit off the heads of
all the wolves. The lsiller-whale
people gave up the fight and swan
back to their village. while the magic
canoe carried Gunan and her father
to Skidegate, where they were received
with great Joy by the people.