Story of the war between the Tahltan and the Taku

These men discovered a fishing-place of the Taku. Signs of people were still fresh; and fishing-utensils, such as poles and spears, were lying about. They helped themselves to these, and began to fish. One of the men fished right at this spot; and his three companions, on the stream a little above. While they were thus engaged, a large party of Taku observed them. They went down to the stream and surrounded the men. Some of them crept unobserved to a rock overlooking the place where the lone man was fishing, and threw rocks into the water all around him. When he ran away, the party amused themselves by throwing stones at him from all directions, before they finally seized him. His companions also took flight, but were intercepted; and, seeing themselves surrounded on all sides by many people, they considered it useless to resist, so they threw away their arms, and allowed themselves to be taken. The four captives were tied each with a squirrel-skin rope around his neck and waist. A man held the end of each rope, and they were marched down to the Nakina village, where the party was going to take their canoe to go down the Taku River. Some of them belonged to the lower part of the river, and others to the interior.

The party held a consultation as to how they should deal with their prisoners. Some said, “Let us kill them at once.” Others said, “Let us take them to the place where the Tahltan massacred so many Taku, and let us kill them there. They will be a sacrifice to our dead.” Still others said, “Let us take them to the coast and make slaves of them.” The chief decided to take them down the river. The day they were to embark they were led to the canoes in the same fashion as before; but the people, while preparing for leaving, did not watch them closely. One young man who was being brought down behind the others, and was being led to the canoe, managed to loosen the squirrel-skin ropes attached to his neck and waist. Suddenly he disengaged himself and ran off at top speed. The Taku chased him, but he was too swift-footed and enduring for them, and got away by running uphill. In vain they fired arrows at him.

The other captives were taken in the chief’s canoe, and were closely watched on the way down the river. On reaching their destination, they were allowed the liberty of walking around where they chose, for it was considered impossible for them to escape to their tribe from that distant place, and through such a difficult country, without being overtaken or dying on the way. They were also given plenty to eat, for a well-fed slave was of more value than one half famished and miserable-looking. Their clothes were taken from them, and each was furnished with a goat-wool blanket, their only clothing. They were not supplied with any moccasins, for fear that they might try to make their escape.

The Taku held another consultation, and it was decided that at a certain time when the people were ready the captives should be taken up the river, and killed at the exact spot where the Taku had been slaughtered by the Tahltan three or four years previously. They were to be offered as sacrifices at this place with much ceremony, and many Taku were intending to witness their deaths. An old man and an old woman had given the prisoners this information, so they made up their minds to escape at the first possible chance. They commenced to cache all the old moccasins that they found. One woman who took pity on them cached moccasins, knives, and flint and steel for them in different places, and told them where to find them.

One night they ran away, and in the morning met an old man who had been friendly to them returning from a hunt. He hailed them, and offered them meat and other assistance; but they were afraid, and hurried on without heeding him. The men had made their escape just when the Taku were about to ascend the river to execute them.

The Taku were much disappointed, and a large party followed the fugitives for several days without being able to overtake them. For five days the three men travelled without eating and without stopping. On the fifth day they came to a place where beaver were numerous. They caught four, and, after eating, they continued their flight.

On arriving opposite Tagoon, they found the people of that place all away. Before leaving, they had destroyed the bridge across the river. They went farther up to other places, but no one was to be seen. All the Tahltan of Nahlin and Chesley Rivers had gone east and south for fear of the Taku, and had destroyed the bridges across these rivers. The men proceeded up the north side of the main streams, and, crossing at a shallow place, went up on Level Mountain. Here, from an eminence, they saw smokes of camps in various directions.

Approaching the nearest one, they came upon a woman wailing, and lamenting the loss of her husband. It happened that this was the camp of the wives of these three men. Believing themselves widows, they had come up here together to snare ground-squirrels for winter use. The husband of the woman approached her. He was naked excepting a piece of goat-wool robe around his shoulders. The men had from necessity cut up their robes for use on their feet, and each now had only enough left to make a kind of cape. When the woman saw her husband, she believed him to be a ghost, and she excitedly called to the other women. When they realized that these were really their husbands, they were overjoyed, and made a signal fire to call the people together. They came, and, after listening to their story, agreed that they would go on an expedition against the Taku.

The following spring, when the snow was well crusted and snowshoe walking good, the Tahltan assembled, and, with the four men as guides, went on the warpath against the Taku. While still within the confines of the Tahltan country, they met two caribou chased by two Taku men. They killed these men on the spot. On the fourth day the Tahltan reached the place where the Taku had camped the previous night. The Taku had broken camp when the hunters did not return, fearing an attack by the Tahltan.

The next day they had difficulty in following them, as the Taku had all separated in twos and threes, going in different directions. They found, however, that all met again at night, and camped together. After following them for three days, they found them encamped. The Taku evidently thought they had travelled far enough away to be safe, and had constructed a large sweat-house, in which all the adult men were now sweating, the rest of the party being in the camp near by. The men had all their weapons hanging in a bush near the sweat-house, their clothes and some tools being scattered around. Unperceived the Tahltan surrounded them. A boy who was playing around shooting arrows fired an arrow, which fell among the Tahltan. When he came forward to pick it up, he noticed the enemies in hiding. He made no cry, however, but, seizing his arrow, was about to run back with it, when a Tahltan clubbed him.

The Tahltan ran to the sweat-house, threw it down, and dispatched all the inmates excepting one man, who seized a fire-drill and managed to get away. While the Tahltan were slaughtering the men who were sweat-bathing, a Taku woman who was near by seized a spear from the bush, attacked the Tahltan from behind, and killed two of them before they could dispatch her. Some of them pursued the man who had escaped, and soon overtook him on the ice of a lake, and killed him. He had no chance to make his escape, as he was naked, and without snowshoes could make no headway in the deep snow. They killed the whole Taku party, including the children, and spared only four young women, whom they told to seek out their tribe and relate the fate of their friends. They spared them because the four Tahltan men had been well treated and helped to escape by a woman. From this place the Tahltan party returned.

As soon as the ground was free of snow, a large party of Taku, including a few women, invaded the Tahltan country, bent on revenge. The Tahltan made signal-fires all over the country, and assembled a party equally as large as that of the invaders. The latter crossed Chesley River at the ford near the mouth of Salmon Creek, and the two parties met on an open flat near the crossing. The Tahltan party had women with them, who were prepared for battle also. The parties talked to each other from a distance; and the chief of each, armed only with a knife, went forward, and they met halfway. The Tahltan chief was the father of the present chief, who is now a very old man. The people of each party held their weapons in hand, ready to attack each other. The chiefs sat down, and, taking sticks, counted the numbers slain on each side since the war began. The chiefs sometimes brandished their knives, and several times nearly fell a-fighting before a satisfactory arrangement was reached. During the war a larger number of Taku had been killed than of Tahltan; and since the life of each man, woman, and child on both sides was reckoned at a certain price, the Tahltan had to pay a considerable amount to the Taku. On the conclusion of the agreement, the Tahltan feasted the enemy, and each of the parties gave a dance.

When they parted, one important man of each party went with the other to stay for one year as hostage. At the appointed time the following year the two tribes met again at the same place and exchanged hostages. Each side feasted the other and exchanged a large number of presents. The Tahltan paid the blood-money they owed, and a peace was consummated between the two tribes which has lasted to the present day.

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