The man who became a marmot

At intervals in the singing she whistled (as marmots do). He did not know that they were marmots, and, taking pity, he invited her into the lodge and married her. She said to him, “There is something wrong with you that you are so lazy. Strip off your clothes, so that I may see.” When he had taken off his clothes, she struck him sharply over the stomach, and at once he vomited lice. She said, “Tomorrow morning you must go trapping. Set all your brothers’ traps. From now on you will have good luck.” Now his traps were full of marmots every day, and soon his lodge was full of meat and skins. She said to him every morning when he went out, “If young marmots come to you and run over your feet, don’t kill them!” One day he thought, “Why does my wife tell me this? I shall kill them, and she will never know.” He struck the young marmots with a stick, and threw them into the bottom of his large game-bag. He put other marmots on top and filled the bag. As soon as he entered the lodge, his wife said to him, “Why did you kill my children? I told you not to kill them. Now I shall leave you.” He tried to hold her; but she slipped through his arms, and went out of the lodge with her baby. All the marmot-meat and all the skins became alive, whistled, and ran out of the lodge. He followed his wife in a dazed state, and at last found himself in a large house. This was the home of the marmots underneath the rocks of the mountains. He staid there all winter, but it seemed to him the same as one night. In April the marmots heard the snow-slides, and said, “That is thunder, and a sign of spring.” They came out of their houses. Soon after this the lad’s brothers came there to trap. They found no sign of their lazy brother, and no traps. They made new traps, but could not catch anything. Two of the brothers were sleeping with their wives. One of them saw a very large black-colored marmot almost as large as a man, and set a special trap for it, but he could not catch it. Then the other brother tried, but with like result. The young marmots always went out first, and, seeing the trap, came in and reported to the big ones. Then the big black marmot went out and sprang the trap. Now the third brother, who slept near his wife under separate cover, accused his elder brothers of having brought upon themselves bad luck by not regarding the winter taboos. He said he would try to catch the big marmot, as he was keeping all the taboos required in marmot-trapping. Now, the young marmot could see no trap because the hunter was keeping the taboos, and told the big marmots that all was safe. The big black marmot then went out without hesitation, and was caught in the trap. The brother brought it to camp, and gave it to the women to skin. They had made a cut down the skin of the belly and along one arm, and were making the cut on the other arm, when the knife struck something hard at the wrist. They looked, and found a copper bracelet there. They called their husbands, who at once recognized it as the bracelet worn by their brother. They said, “He has changed into a marmot.” They ordered the women to camp by themselves out of hearing while they tried to bring it to life again. They wrapped the body in down and new mats, and put it on a scaffold in a tree. They camped four days and nights at the foot of the tree without eating or drinking. On the fourth night they heard a faint sound of singing from the scaffold, and, on uncovering the body, they found that part of their brother’s head had come out of the marmot-skin. They covered him up again, and camped another four nights. Then they heard loud singing from the tree, which sounded like that of a shaman. They uncovered the body, and found that he had come out of the marmot-skin down to the knees. They covered him up again; and before daybreak on the following morning he had recovered his natural form, and was singing like a shaman. He sang:

You will find out what we think in the mountain.

He staid with his brothers, and told them all about the Marmot people,—how they lived, about their customs, and about the trapper’s taboos. He became a shaman, and the marmot was his guardian.

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