The stars

On the following morning their mother called them to come to breakfast. When she did not receive an answer, she grew angry and went to call the girls. Then she saw that they had disappeared. During the night a boy had heard how the girls had been talking about the stars, and thus the people were led to suppose that the stars had abducted the girls. The stars go out every night with bow and arrows hunting cariboos. Then they look through the holes in the sky and see what is going on on earth.

The two stars who had married the girls also went out every night, and brought home many cariboos. The young women skinned and carved them. They made gloves, shoes, and dresses from the skins. They cut long thongs from the skins of others, cutting spirally around their bodies. They hid the clothing and the thongs carefully from their husbands. There was no water, no cloud, and no rain in the sky, and they were always suffering thirst. They had nothing to eat but meat Therefore they longed to return to their own country. When they had prepared a sufficient number of thongs and of cloths they made ready to escape. One day, when their husbands had started on a long hunting expedition, they went to the hole in the sky. They tied stones to one end of a thong and let it down towards the earth. When one thong was paid out they tied a new one to the end of the first, and thus they continued from morning to night. The one woman brought the cloths and the thongs from their hiding-place, while the other let them down. Finally, after four days, they felt the rope striking the ground. They could not see the earth because it was hidden by smoke. They shook the thong and it fell a little farther, but finally it seemed to have reached the ground. At least they felt that it was held by something. Now they tied two pairs of sticks together, one being on each side of the rope. They put on four suits of clothing, four pairs of shoes, and four pairs of gloves. The elder sister stepped on one pair of sticks and they began to glide down, the sticks acting as a brake. The rope swung to and fro, and the sister who had remained behind gradually lost sight of her. Finally the young woman reached the end of the rope and found herself on the top of a tall tree. Her clothing and her gloves were almost worn through by friction. Then she shook the rope, and upon this signal her sister began to slide down in the same manner. She came down very much quicker, because her sister was holding the end of the rope. Looking upward, she beheld a small dot in the air. It was coming nearer and increased in size. Soon she recognized her sister, who finally reached the top of the tree. There they were on the top of a tall spruce-tree, and there was no way of getting down. They broke off some branches, and made a bed in the tree. The elder sister, before starting, had tied an additional piece of thong around her waist, thinking that she might use it in case the long rope should not have reached the ground. She untied it, and fastened it on to the long rope, but still it was not long enough.

After a while, the young women saw a number of men passing the foot of the tree. They were armed with bows and arrows, and were on snowshoes. They recognized the wolf, the bear, and many other animals. They called to them, asking them to help them down, but they passed by without paying attention to their entreaties. The next morning they saw another man approaching the tree. They recognized the fisher. They called him, and he at once climbed the tree. The young women asked him to carry them down, but he demanded that they should first marry him. The elder one said: “I will do so, but first carry me down.” The fisher finally agreed and carried her down. When they arrived at the foot of the tree, she demanded from him that he should first carry down her youngest sister. Reluctantly he was compelled to do so. Then he demanded from the youngest sister that she should marry him. She said: “I will do so, but carry me down first.” He took her down. When he insisted upon his former demand, the elder sister said: “We are almost starved; first bring us some food.” He went away and soon returned, carrying a bear that he had killed. During his absence the young women had lighted a fire. He wanted to roast the bear meat, but they said they wished to eat it boiled. Then the fisher made a basket of bark, and placed stones into the fire, which he intended to use to boil water in the basket. Meanwhile the young women had hidden a few pieces of meat under their blankets, and now they pretended to go to fetch water in which to boil the meat. As soon as they were out of sight they ran away down the mountains. After a while the eldest sister flung a piece of meat at a tree, asking it to whistle. They went on, and again she threw a piece of meat at a tree, asking it to talk. In this manner she continued to give meat to all the trees.

When the young women did not return, the fisher followed them to the brook, where they had gone to fetch water. He discovered their tracks, and saw that they had escaped. He pursued them. Soon he came to the tree which they had asked to whistle. It did so when the fisher went past. Then he thought they were on the tree, climbed it, and searched for them. When he did not find them, he continued his pursuit. He came to the second tree, which spoke when he went past. Again he thought the young women might be on the tree. He climbed up, but did not find them. Thus he lost so much time that they made good their escape.

Towards evening they reached a deep canyon. They walked along its edge, and soon they were discovered by the grizzly bear, who was residing here. He wanted to marry them, and they did not dare to refuse. But they said: “First go and bring us something to eat. We are almost starving.” While the bear was away hunting, the girls built a platform over the steep precipice of the canyon. It overhung the abyss, and was held in place by two ropes which were tied to a tree that grew near the edges of the canyon. Its outer edge was supported by two slanting poles which leaned against a ledge a short distance down the precipice. When the bear came back, he found them apparently asleep on this platform. He did not bring any meat; he had only roots and berries. The young women said that they could not eat that kind of food, and demanded that he should go hunting again. It had grown dark, however, and the bear proposed to go out on the following morning. They lay down on the platform, and the young women induced the bear to lie near the edge, while they lay down near the tree to which the platform was tied. They kept away from the bear, promising to marry him after he should have obtained food for them. Early in the morning, when the grizzly bear was fast asleep, they arose without disturbing him, cut the ties with which the platform was fastened to the tree, and it tipped over, casting the bear into the abyss.

The young women travelled on, and for a whole month they did not fall in with a soul. Then, one day, they discovered tracks of snowshoes, and soon they found the hut of a woman who had given birth to a child. They entered, and recognized one of their friends. They stayed with her for a short time, and when the young mother was ready to return to the village, they sent her on in order to inform their relatives of their return. She went to the mother of the two lost girls, and told her that they were waiting in the woods, but she would not believe the news. The young mother returned to her friends and told them that their mother would not believe that they had come back. Then they gave her as a token a skin hat that was decorated with stars. She took it to the village and showed it to the mother of the two young women. Then she began to think that there might be some truth in the report, and went out to look. There she saw and recognized her daughters. At that time all the men were out hunting. The women on hearing of the return of the two lost girls went out to see them, and they told of their adventures. Then they climbed two trees, tied their skin belts to the branches, and hanged themselves.

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