Ta a7x7ánwasa kúkwa7: The Resourceful Grandmother

Lkw7u sqáyt.sa áku7 ta Mission Mountain a lhus tsicw q’weláw’em i smelhmúlhatsa icín’as. Wa7 aylh t’it tsicw kem’emwít i skwenkwína. Nilh t’u7 stsicw píxem’ i sqáyqeycwa.

Wa7 k’a zam’ láti7 kem’emwít ku skwenkwín i smelhmúlhatsa, nilh t’u7 st’axilmintánemwit ta st’alhálema. Cwelcúlel láti7 i tewtwíw’eta smúlhats, t’u7 stsut.s ta qelhmémen’a: “T’ak wi t’u7 t’ak wi xweysút! Cúz’lhkan hem’ lts7a zuqws ta st’alhálema.”

[Nilh] t’u7 skelhenás ta qmém’t.sa láti7 s... zenp’ánas lta pátsa7sa. Ts7as aylh t’úk’wun’em ta st’alhálema, nilh t’u7 s... nler’tsán’as ta pátsa7sa. Nilh st’aks t’u7 gelílc t’úk’wun’em ta st’alhálema, nilh t’u7 st’aks t’u7 áku7... t’ep st’aks éta qmém’t.sa wa7 szenp’ lta páts7a. Nilh sas xílem áti7 ta st’alhálema t’u kantsqám’a t’ú7a. Wa7 aylh spáqwstum’ lhelt7ú kekáw’a i wa7 cúlel. S7ats’xstwítas láti7 t.skatsqám’sa ta st’alhálema.

Cin’ lh ts7áswit aylh lh ets’7ats’xenítas láti7 ta smúlhatsa wa7 zúqwstal’i ta st’alhálema. Ts’eksúp’ ta st’alhálema, t.s7alastsá t’u7 áku7 kapéxa ta qmém’t.sa ta smúlhatsa. Cw7aoz aylh múta7 kw skalhaxwensása. Wa7 aylh tsúnas láti7 i núkwa wa7 tsicw kém’em, “Nilh ti7 nszáytenlhkalh. Cw7aoz kwásu xweysút, kacw ptínusem, lhkel7ás kw sxílemsu kw sptínusemsu.”

T’iq aylh i sqáyqeycwa [lh] tsicw píxem’. Ats’xenítas láti7 ta st’alhálema, eszúqw. Ícwa7 esxán’ lkw sqam’t.s. Nilh t’u7 sawenítas i smúlhatsa:

“Kástskacw?”

Nilh tsut ta qelhmémen’a, “Kaq’ip’minása láti7 ta nqmém’ta, nilh t’u7 tu7 sts’eksúp’s.”

Nq’san’kmínem aylh láti7 i sqáyqeycwa, wa7 tsútwit, “Kaksépkalha tsicw píxem’, aoz kw skwámemlhkalh, k’ámalha snuláp smelhmúlhats.... ícwa7 [es]swelmín’k láti7, meskál’ap t’u7 zam’ zúqwnucw ta st’alhálema.”

Nilh ti7.

Lkw7u sqáyt.sa áku7 ta Mission Mountain a lhus tsicw q’weláw’em i smelhmúlhatsa icín’as. Wa7 aylh t’it tsicw kem’emwít i skwenkwína. Nilh t’u7 stsicw píxem’ i sqáyqeycwa.

Wa7 k’a zam’ láti7 kem’emwít ku skwenkwín i smelhmúlhatsa, nilh t’u7 st’axilmintánemwit ta st’alhálema. Cwelcúlel láti7 i tewtwíw’eta smúlhats, t’u7 stsut.s ta qelhmémen’a: “T’ak wi t’u7 t’ak wi xweysút! Cúz’lhkan hem’ lts7a zuqws ta st’alhálema.”

[Nilh] t’u7 skelhenás ta qmém’t.sa láti7 s... zenp’ánas lta pátsa7sa. Ts7as aylh t’úk’wun’em ta st’alhálema, nilh t’u7 s... nler’tsán’as ta pátsa7sa. Nilh st’aks t’u7 gelílc t’úk’wun’em ta st’alhálema, nilh t’u7 st’aks t’u7 áku7... t’ep st’aks éta qmém’t.sa wa7 szenp’ lta páts7a. Nilh sas xílem áti7 ta st’alhálema t’u kantsqám’a t’ú7a. Wa7 aylh spáqwstum’ lhelt7ú kekáw’a i wa7 cúlel. S7ats’xstwítas láti7 t.skatsqám’sa ta st’alhálema.

Cin’ lh ts7áswit aylh lh ets’7ats’xenítas láti7 ta smúlhatsa wa7 zúqwstal’i ta st’alhálema. Ts’eksúp’ ta st’alhálema, t.s7alastsá t’u7 áku7 kapéxa ta qmém’t.sa ta smúlhatsa. Cw7aoz aylh múta7 kw skalhaxwensása. Wa7 aylh tsúnas láti7 i núkwa wa7 tsicw kém’em, “Nilh ti7 nszáytenlhkalh. Cw7aoz kwásu xweysút, kacw ptínusem, lhkel7ás kw sxílemsu kw sptínusemsu.”

T’iq aylh i sqáyqeycwa [lh] tsicw píxem’. Ats’xenítas láti7 ta st’alhálema, eszúqw. Ícwa7 esxán’ lkw sqam’t.s. Nilh t’u7 sawenítas i smúlhatsa:

“Kástskacw?”

Nilh tsut ta qelhmémen’a, “Kaq’ip’minása láti7 ta nqmém’ta, nilh t’u7 tu7 sts’eksúp’s.”

Nq’san’kmínem aylh láti7 i sqáyqeycwa, wa7 tsútwit, “Kaksépkalha tsicw píxem’, aoz kw skwámemlhkalh, k’ámalha snuláp smelhmúlhats.... ícwa7 [es]swelmín’k láti7, meskál’ap t’u7 zam’ zúqwnucw ta st’alhálema.”

Nilh ti7.

A long time ago, some women went up to the top of Mission Mountain to pick berries. They also went to dig wild potatoes. The men had gone hunting.

The ladies must’ve been digging wild potatoes when a grizzly attacked them. The younger ladies were running away but the old woman said, “Keep going, just keep looking after yourselves! I’m just gonna stay here and kill the grizzly bear.”

So she took off her little hat, she wrapped it on her digging stick. The grizzly bear began to squeeze her, and so she stuck the digging stick in its mouth. The harder the bear tried to squeeze her, the deeper the little hat that was wrapped around the stick went down its throat. The grizzly kept doing that until it fell down dead. The ones that ran away were watching her from afar, they watched as the grizzly fell back dead.

It was a long time before they came back to see what had happened to the woman who killed the grizzly bear. The grizzly had run out of breath because the little hat went deep down in its throat. It couldn’t spit it out again. She told the other ones that had come to dig potatoes “That’s how we do things. Don’t just look after yourselves, think before you act.”

And the men that went out hunting came back. They saw the grizzly bear there, dead. There was no wound where it got hit. So they asked the women: “How did you do it?” The old woman said, “He choked on my hat and he ran out of breath.” The men laughed at the women and they said, “We went a long ways to hunt and we never caught anything. But you women, you didn’t have any guns, and you killed a grizzly bear.”

That’s it.