Chis-Tapistaquhn, or the Rolling Head

A father provides for winter, but his lazy wife wastes meat and meets serpent companions at a tree stump. Discovering her secret, he destroys the snakes, provoking her wrath. After a fierce battle, he decapitates her, but her head pursues their children. They thwart it with enchanted objects and escape by a pelican. One child is later taken as a husband, the other transformed into a wolf.

Source:
History and Folklore of
the Cowichan Indians
by Martha Douglas Harris
The Colonist
Printing and Publishing Company
Victoria, British Columbia, 1901
(Chapter: “Folklore of the Cree Indians”)

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The story features multiple physical metamorphoses, notably the wife’s serpent companions, her decapitated head becoming a sturgeon, and the younger son turning into a wolf.

Trials and Tribulations: The children endure a harrowing escape, overcoming successive obstacles thrown up by their vengeful mother’s head.

Mythical Creatures: The narrative abounds with creatures of legend: serpents, a sturgeon-born head, a talking crow, eagle, and pelican.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

A man, his wife and two little sons went into the forest to hunt and fish, so as to get sufficient food for the winter, the winter being very long and cold. The father was very fortunate in his hunting. Many moose had he killed, also ducks and geese in plenty; he had trapped plenty of beaver, otter and marten; their furs were for clothing. His wife, however, was a very lazy woman, and let much of the meat spoil. One day he asked his little children: “What does your mother do when I am away?”

“Oh, father, she leaves us and will not let us follow her. She goes far away, and does not come back till it is nearly time for yon to come home.”

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The father was very sad, and could not rest till he found out what his wife did during his absence. So the next morning he went off to see his traps, etc., but only went a little way, and then waited for his wife.

Presently she came out, dressed in her best, and went towards the river. He followed her, and saw her stop at a very large stump and knock at it and say: “I am here my friends; come out now and let us play.”

Then the stump became alive with snakes, large and small. Then she laid down and let them crawl all over her, and kept singing and playing with them. The poor man was almost overcome with terror, but tore himself away and made his plan how he was going to destroy this monster of a woman. So he shot many deer and left them and marked the places where they were hid, and went home. He had killed some heaver and had taken their teeth with him, but left them in the swamps. In the evening he told his wife that she must get up early next day and go into the woods and bring back the meat and beaver. How cross she was! She scolded her children and behaved quite rudely. Next day she went off, and not long afterwards he went to find the stump, and when he found it he took a stick and beat on it and said: “Come out, my friends; I am here now; come and play.”

Then the snakes all came out, and he began cutting them to pieces. He killed all of them except one little snake that managed to escape into its hole. He gathered all the blood of the snakes and took it home. At dusk the wife returned, very tired and cross. He had cooked the beavers’ tails, which are most delicious and a great dainty, and afterwards gave her to drink, but it was blood. She did not know it. He had told his children that he had killed their mother’s friends, and that when she found out she would kill them all. “Now, listen, my children. You must run away from here as quickly as you can; and if you see your mother coming after you, you must throw this comb behind you.” Then he gave them a wooden comb, flint and beaver’s teeth. “Always remember and throw these things behind you and never in front,” Then he lifted up the flap of the skin tent at the back, and told them to go that way. The poor little fellows went off crying bitterly.

Now, the mother, after eating and feeling hotter, asked where the children were.

Oh, they are watching for the stars, and will be in soon, so go to sleep. The next day he left early, but went only a little war, when he saw his wife go out. Presently she came back, raging. She had gone to the stump and found all her friends dead, and only one little one left alive, who told her that her husband had killed all his relations. When he heard her raging he returned and prepared for the death struggle. Words cannot describe the awful conflict. At last he cut off her head and fled, with the body after him and the head rolling about looking for the children, and calling for them. At last she saw a crow, and asked the bird if he had seen which way the children had gone.

“Oh, yes,” said he; “lift up the tent at the back and you will find their trail.”

So he flew down and picked up the tent, and out the head rolled. It went on and on till it nearly reached the children, who were terribly frightened. They threw the comb behind, and an immense forest sprang up. Now the head was in despair, and asked everybody she met to help her. At last the fire helped her and made a path for her through the forest. She then rolled on and nearly came up to the children, when they threw the flint, and a great mountain rose up. Again she asked the birds and animals to help her. An eagle picked her up and carried her over and dropped her, and she went rolling on.

At last the poor children saw her coming, and in their haste they threw the beaver’s teeth before them, and a broad river appeared. Poor children, how could they cross this wide river? They cried so bitterly that at last a pelican that was fishing near by, said: “Come, my poor little children; get on my back and I will cross you.”

“Oh, grandfather, how kind you are.”

On the broad back of the pelican they mounted, and he took them across the river. The head saw the children get on the pelican’s back, but was too late to catch them. So when the pelican came back, she begged him to cross her too. At first he would not, but at last consented, and after a good deal of trouble she got on the pelican’s back. Just when they were in the middle of the river he made a dive after a fish, and the poor Chis-tapistaquhn rolled into the water, where she became a sturgeon. The Indians won’t eat the flesh of the sturgeon just where the head joins the body, for that is, they say, Chis-tapistaquhn’s flesh. The poor children remained on the river bank, living as best they could, when one day a temanhous man came and carried away the eldest boy for his daughter’s husband. The poor little boy was heartbroken at parting with his brother, but the temanhous man turned the younger into a wolf.

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The enchanted bear

After their parents’ death, a twelve-year-old girl cares for her baby sister. Forbidden from playing the “Bear!” game, the younger accidentally compels her sister to transform into an enchanted bear. Mocked by villagers, the bear destroys them in anger. When forced to reveal where her heart is hidden, the sisters’ secret leads hunters to fatally trap her on poisoned stakes, leaving the child sister bereft.

► Themes of the story

Transformation: The elder sister is magically changed into a bear, driving the entire narrative through this metamorphosis.

Forbidden Knowledge: The villagers coerce the younger sister into revealing the enchanted bear’s hidden heart, a secret meant to protect her.

Revenge and Justice: The bear avenges her unjust treatment of both sisters by attacking the mockers, and the villagers’ plotted revenge leads to her tragic end.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

In a very large village there lived two sisters. They had lost their parents when the younger child was but a babe and the eldest a child of about twelve years of age. This good girl took entire charge of her little sister, and also worked for the women of the village, and they gave her food in return for her help. When the little girl was old enough to play with the other children, her sister begged her never to play the game that the children were fondest of, and that was calling out, “Bear! Bear!” and frightening themselves with pretending that they were being chased. So the little girl was very careful to obey her sister, as she loved her greatly; and when the game was to be played, she would run back to her sister. At length the children noticed it, and said: “Now, it is your turn to be bear.” She begged them not to ask her to play it.

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Children are sometimes cruel, and they insisted on her taking her turn, so she had to submit or be cruelly used. Well, she went into the hiding place, and when the children shouted “Bear! Bear!” out she came, growling at them, and chased them and then ran home to tell her sister what she had been compelled to do. There, owing to this unfortunate game, when she reached home she found that her poor sister had been transformed into a bear. The poor bear was crying at this horrid change, and asked her sister to go with her to the river side and live in a cave in the bank. They both wept together, and then they went to find this cave and make it their home. Then the people heard of the sister being changed into a bear, and came and mocked the little sister, and out rushed the bear and destroyed many of the people. The rest got very much alarmed, and tried in many ways to kill the bear, but all their efforts were in vain. At last they tried making a fire before the cave’s mouth, but she only rushed out and attacked them. They could not kill this enchanted bear. They waylaid the poor sister and asked her where the bear kept her heart.

“Oh, I don’t know; indeed I don’t,” she would say. At last they insisted on her asking the bear where her heart was. So one evening she began asking questions, and at last came to ask where the bear’s heart was kept. “Now, my sister, the people have told you to ask me.”

“No, sister, they have not.”

At last she told where her heart was. It was in her forepaw, in the little toe of it. So the next day when the little sister went to draw water, she was waylaid and compelled to tell where the bear’s heart was.

For many days the men were very busy making little sticks, pointed at both ends, and when they had finished they went towards the bear’s cave, and stuck these sharp points into the ground, as closely together as they could. Then they shouted to the bear to come out, and roused the bear at once, who came rushing out, right on these sharp sticks. One pricked her little toe, and she fell dead, to the bitter grief of her younger sister.

The story of the Four Winds

In a village by the river, a young hunter reluctant to marry imposes an impossible test on maidens by asking them to hang his blanket on a sunbeam and see his invisible form. All fail except a hideous sorceress who becomes his wife. After violent attempts to kill her, she resurrects and gives birth to a child who later becomes the mother of the four winds.

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The tale explains how the four winds came into being through the girl’s forbidden act of stooping toward the rising sun.

Supernatural Beings: A hideous sorceress and the elemental spirits of the winds play central, otherworldly roles.

Magic and Enchantment: Spells, invisibility tests, and magical resurrection drive the plot’s conflicts and resolutions.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

In a village, by the river there lived a very handsome young man, who was content to live with his sister and employ his time hunting. His sister was very industrious, and put up many things for the long winters. She was very plain, and no one cared to marry her, though she was known to be so good and clever. One day she said to her brother: My brother, you must now think of getting a wife. The girls are all dying of jealousy when you go to see them. Now, please choose one and bring her home.”

“Well, sister, you ask me a hard thing to do, for I don’t like any of them; but if you say I must marry, well I have to obey you. Now, when they come to see me in the lodge, the one that is able to hang my blanket on the sunbeam and then see me— for I shall be invisible to everyone except you—I will marry.”

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“Well, you have given them a hard task, but I will call the girls tomorrow.”

So he went to invite all the girls to come to see her brother, who, she said, was going to choose a wife. What excitement reigned! The next day early the pretty girls went in, one by one. “Take this blanket, sister, and hang it on this sunbeam.”

The girl tried her best, but it was impossible to do it.

“Now, sister, do you see my brother?”

The poor girl had to say no. Then all the girls were tried, but none could see him or put the blanket on the sunbeam. Now, there lived in the village a very hideous old woman, skilled in magic, and when she heard that the girls had all been refused, she was angry and went off to the young man’s lodge. When the sister saw her come in, she knew it was all up with her brother, but she said: “Good day, sister; can you put the blanket on this sunbeam?”

“Yes, indeed I can,” so she immediately hung the blanket up.

“Now, sister, do you see my brother?”

“Hey! Of course I do; there he sits, dressed in a green coat made of ducks’ necks, and a cap of the swans’ breasts.”

So the young man lamented his stupidity in refusing the pretty girls and having to marry this hateful old thing. Marry he had to, but with very bad grace. The next day he went out hunting, and she went with him to bring home the meat, and when far away he turned on her and killed her and cut her to pieces and went home. The next day he went out again, and who should he see but his wife coming towards him, singing to a child. “See our child!” she cried, and he had to go to her. It seems that during the struggle he had lost some fringe off his coat, and out of this she made a child. So he tried to kill her again; but after a long struggle she was the victor, but before he died: “Never let our daughter stoop down to the east when she goes to gather sticks for the fire.” Then he died. The old woman went back to the village with the child, and lived with the young man’s sister. She never would tell what had happened to him. She was very careful of the child, and as soon as she could run about, she told her never to stoop down to the cast, where the sun rose from. What would happen she could not tell. One day, when the girl was about sixteen, she went to gather wood, and forgot all about the caution, when she stooped down towards the sun. Then she was carried away and became the mother of the four winds. They all have names, but I have forgotten them.

Wie-sah-ke-chack

The culture-hero Wie-sah-ke-chack survives a devastating flood with animals on a raft, sends the beaver to retrieve earth and recreates the world by blowing the earth ball into existence. He then gains power to dislodge his eyes and engages in trickster exploits punishing greed, explaining natural traits such as red eyelids, clumsy water-hens, and the origin of pine trees bearing his name.

► Themes of the story

Creation: The myth describes the remaking of the world after a great flood, detailing how earth was retrieved and blown into a new land.

Origin of Things: It explains the origins of various natural traits (red eyelids, clumsy water-hen gait, pine “Wie-sah-ke-chack” trees) through the hero’s adventures.

Loss and Renewal: The flood destroys the old world, and subsequent losses (beaver, eyes, hunters) lead to renewal and new beginnings.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

In olden days a great flood came upon earth, and all the people were destroyed except Wie-sah-ke-chack and a few animals. They were on a raft. It was terrible. After a long time of it, Wie-sah-ke-chack said to the animals: “Which of you will go down and see if you can find the earth. Bring me a little and I will make a new world.”

The little water-rat tried, but he could not go far enough down: so the beaver offered to go; and, after tying a long string to one of his feet, he sprang off the raft and down into the water. The string quivered, and at last stopped. “Our brother is dead.” So they pulled up the heaver, and sure enough he was dead, but in his paws he held a little earth.

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This Wie-sah-ke-chack took and, blowing into the heaver’s face, he came to life again. Then Wie-sah-ke-chack made a small ball of the earth, and kept blowing on it, and it grew larger and larger, till it was so large that he thought it was large enough for them to live on, so he asked the wolf to go and see; but the wolf came back and said that it was not half large enough, so he kept blowing and the earth growing, and the second time the wolf went; but no, it was not large enough. The third time the wolf went to see, he never came back, so from that they knew that the world was big enough for all to live on. That is the beginning of the world. Many years after — I don’t know how many, but long enough for the people to increase — Wie-sah-ke-chack was walking along one day singing his song—he always carried his song on his back—when he saw a man sitting on a log, taking out his eyes and throwing them up in the air. He stood and looked with astonishment at this wonderful thing. He then shewed himself and asked what, his brother was doing.

“Oh,” said the man, “my head was aching, and this is the way I cure myself.”

“Oh, please show me, too.”

“Remember,” said the man, after shewing Wie-sah-ke-chack how to do the trick, “only do it when your head really aches; if you do it when it does not, you will lose your eyes.”

He promised faithfully, so they parted, and Wie-sah-ke-chack was all impatience to try the new remedy. At last he got a headache and then joy; he could throw his eyes up in the air. “How much better I feel now,” said he, after playing a long time with his eyes. Then he went on his journey again, but still longing to try again. At last he could not resist the temptation, and, sitting down, exclaimed: “What a headache I have; how ill I feel”—all make believe. So out came his eyes, and for several times they dropped into the sockets safely. At last they fell on the ground and were snapped up by a while fox, who had been watching him. How Wie-sah-ke-chack cried and lamented the loss of his eyes, when suddenly he felt a sharp prick on his poor empty eye-sockets. “Who is trying to hurt me, now that I have lost my eyes? If I catch him I will kill him.”

Then the pricking still went on, till he was perfectly frantic. At last he caught the white fox by his leg and held him up and threatened to pull him to pieces. The fox prayed him to let him go, “for,” said the fox, “I will take you to a place where you can get some pitch and make eyes for yourself.”

Wie-sah-ke-chack would not let the fox go, but tied him with a cord, so the fox led him to an old pine tree, and there he found good white pitch and made eyes for himself; but his eye-lids were always red, and that is the reason why old people get red eyes from Wie-sah-ke-chack.

After his eyes were restored, he went on and saw a beaver lying asleep, and he ran and caught him by the tail, and put his fire-bag on a tree-limb overhanging the water, and forgot it there. The beaver he tied to his back and went to make a fire and cook the beaver. Presently the beaver gave him such a slap with his tail, and then another, that Wie-sah-ke-chack was glad to let him go. “Now, where is my fire-bag?” So he went back to where he had found the beaver, and there, in the water, was the bag. How was he to get it? At last the beaver got there, and laughed at him. “Look up, you stupid, and see where it is; but you won’t make a fire for me today.”

So Wie-sah-ke-chack had to go hungry. He pulled in his belt. He was so famished, and he was walking on very sadly when he came across a beautiful deer. “Now, here is my meat.” Then, calling to the deer, he said: “Good day, brother; let us play a while, and do you pretend I am going to shoot you, but I’ll only pretend.”

So the deer began to run up and down, tossing his beautiful head and springing in the air; the arrows would fall short, and Wie-sah-ke-chack would pretend to be vexed. At last he aimed at the deer’s heart and shot at his poor brother and killed him. Now what a feast he would have! So, skinning the deer and getting the fire ready and cutting the choicest bits and putting them on la pola sticks to broil before the fire, he did not know if he had better sleep first or wash first, so he said he would sleep after the feast. So he went to the water-side, and, bathing himself carefully and combing his hair, at length he was ready, and how good the meat smelt! So, going to two pine trees that were growing out of one stein, he got between them and told them to squeeze him till his appetite was better. The trees began to squeeze him gently, but firmly. Now, this good smell of cooking had brought all the animals to the feast, and they began, without ceremony, to eat the feast. “Stop! Stop! That is my feast. Here, let me go!” but the trees held him fast, and in his anger he broke all the branches he could reach and threw them at the animals. At last everything was eaten, and the bones picked clean, and the fire put out, and the uninvited guests dispersed, when the trees let him loose. These trees are called Wie-sah-ke-chack trees, as they punished him for his greediness. Now he fumed and raged, but to no purpose. Going along, he found a man who was hunting, but this hunting was new to Wie-sah-ke-chack. The man had a number of little men who hunted for him, and they had killed a large deer. He opened a large sack and called the little men to come back, and they all stepped into the sack, and he shut it up. Now, Wie-sah-ke-chack stepped out and said: “Good day, brother. What are you doing here?”

“Oh, I am just hunting.”

“And what have you in your bag?”

“I have my little men, and they hunt for me.”

“Oh, how I wish I could have some hunters, too.” “Well,” said the stranger, “I’ll be glad to give you some; but when you are hunting, don’t let the little men go out of fight, or you will lose them.” So, giving Wie-sah-ke-chack some men and picking up the deer, the stranger disappeared.

How happy was our friend, and he strode off into the woods, quite happy. Presently he came into a large open glade, and there he saw a deer grazing, so opening the sack, he let the little men out, and they ran and shot the deer. He was so busy with the deer that he forgot to call the little men back, and they disappeared, and he was inconsolable. So he cooked his deer and ate it; and the next day, shouldering his sack, off he went.

The birds had all assembled before winter. They had called a meeting, and after the meeting they were to have a dance; but there was no one to sing for them, when suddenly they saw Wie-sah-ke-chack coming. What calling and shouting! “Come here, Wie-sah-ke-chack; how glad we are to see you, for we are going to have a big dance tonight, and want you to sing for us.”

“Hey!” cried he; “why, you have nothing ready for your dance.”

“Well, what must we do? “

“First of all,” said he, “you must build a big lodge, and put a division in the middle of it, and by and by the fat birds must dance on one side and the lean ones on the other, and then I must paint YOU.”

So they were all busy, and after the lodge was made, they came to be painted. Out of the sack the paints came, and the swan was the first to get ready; so Wie-sah-ke-chack painted him all white, with black feet and nose. How beautiful he looked. Then the wood-duck, with all his lovely colours on. It was a rare sight to see these painted birds. Well, when they were all ready the fat birds went to one side and the lean to the other, and then they were told to shut their eyes while they danced. Such fine songs Wie-sah-ke-chack sung! I have forgotten them now, so I can’t tell you how they went. By and by the noise of the dancing became less and less, and at last La Pooldo, the little water-hen, opened her eyes—and what should she see but Wie-sah-ke-chack killing her people and throwing them outside — only the fat ones, of course. So she got near the door and then shouted, “Wie-sah-ke-chack is killing us!” and as she ran out of the door he stepped on her back and almost broke it, and that is why the water-hen is now so clumsy when she walks. Then the dance broke up, and the birds that were left flew away. Now, there was a fine beach there—a long’ stretch of lovely white sand—and Wie-sah-ke-chack thought he would make his feast there, so he buried the birds, with their legs sticking up, and built a big fire over them. Then he lay down and slept, and when he awakened he went to bathe and refresh himself. What a fine appetite he had, and how be would enjoy himself after all the hard work! So, scraping the ashes away, he pulled up the first bird, and only legs came up—no body at all. Well, the fire must have been too hot. Then he tried the next bird, and the same thing happened; so he ran along, pulling up his feast, but nothing but legs came. Then he knew his feast had been stolen from him. It seems that the foxes had come down and eaten all the birds up whilst he slept, and then stuck the legs back again so as to deceive Wie-sah-ke-chack.

There are other adventures, but they are not clear in my mind, so I will not write them. The legend is that the person who can tell all about the adventures, of Wie-sah-ke-chack will live to be very old. So I leave my story, with great reluctance, owing to my inability to remember more, and having to face a short life in consequence.

The biter bit

An old man murdered his daughter’s first two husbands by luring them to a hilltop trap that would break their backs. Her third spouse, however, proved more cunning: after a fruitful bear hunt he presented the old man with a massive fat-filled birchbark basket and agreed to ascend the hill together. In wrestling for strength, the son-in-law broke the old man’s back, and the daughter declared it just retribution.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Revenge and Justice: The son-in-law’s victory serves as retribution for the old man’s earlier killings.

Conflict with Authority: The daughter repeatedly defies her father’s tyranny by marrying against his will.

Family Dynamics: A dysfunctional father–daughter relationship drives the cycle of violence and retribution.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

There was once an old man who had an only daughter to look after him. One day the daughter was married to a young Indian, and this so angered the old man that he put the husband to death. The daughter married again, and again the old man made away with her husband. The manner in which he killed them was by coaxing them to the top of a hill, where he had a trap placed to break their backs.

At last the daughter married a man who happened to be a little more cunning than the rest. He ran away with the daughter and went off to hunt bear. That winter he was very successful and killed many bears.

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He made a large roggan or birchbark basket in which he put the bear’s fat. The roggan was so heavy that it took four men to carry it.

In the spring the couple returned to the old man’s wigwam, and the son-in-law made him a present of the roggan. The old man was so strong that he lifted the roggan easily. The old man then coaxed the son-in-law to go to the top of the hill, intending to serve him as he had done the others, but the young man proved too strong and cunning for the old fellow, and in wrestling he broke the old man’s back. During the struggle the old man cried out to his daughter that her husband was killing him, but she had no sympathy for him, and said that it served him right.

The fisherman

An old man and his two sons camp by the shore of a frozen lake. While checking his ice-fishing line, the father is ambushed by warriors who seek revenge. Armed with only a sharpened pole and his enchanted fish-hook bag, he strikes down each attacker and even deflects arrows. His sons rush to his aid, killing the remaining foes, and the weary patriarch finally rests.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Good vs. Evil: The old man and his sons defend themselves against hostile warriors intent on doing them harm.

Revenge and Justice: The warriors seek vengeance for past slights, and the sons restore order by slaying their attackers.

Magic and Enchantment: His fish-hook bag inexplicably protects him by causing enemy arrows to fall harmlessly away.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

An old man and his two sons were encamped by the side of a large lake. One day the wife of one of his sons saw a number of warriors on the shore of the lake. She called out, as she knew the warriors were waiting for the two young men to return from the hunt. The old man had a fish-hook set through the ice, so he took a small bag and a stick pointed at both ends and went to visit his hooks.

As soon as the strange Indians saw the old man at his hooks, one of their number went to push him under the ice. As the warrior drew near, the old man stabbed him with the sharp stick.

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His comrades seeing this sent two of their number to kill the old man, but these were killed in the same manner as the first. The whole band then went to obtain revenge. They fired arrows, but these fell harmlessly into the old man’s bag. The sons, hearing that their father was in danger, came up and killed the warriors. The old man was very tired, and glad to get a rest after his exertions.

The story of Katonao

Katonao, an aging warrior, pursues his glory‐seeking sons into battle, rescues a wounded child, and inspires their quest to save the other brother. Captured for a feast, he endures cruelty, hunts partridges to escape, and slays two pursuers. Returning home, he almost kills a son mistaking him for a threat, but a plea spares him. Reunited, Katonao lives peacefully with his sons.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Family Dynamics: The bond between Katonao and his two sons drives both the rescue efforts and the final reconciliation.

Trials and Tribulations: Katonao endures wounds, capture, cruel treatment, harsh wilderness, and lethal pursuers.

Revenge and Justice: He slays two warriors during his escape to avenge the cruelty they inflicted.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Katonao was a great warrior who was always seeking for glory. He had two sons who were very much like him in this respect. They went off to meet some other warriors, and Katonao followed to help them fight. When he had gone some distance he saw a lot of warriors on the ground dead, and he knew that his sons had passed that way. At last he came across one of his sons who was lying wounded on the ground, pierced by a number of arrows. The old man pulled the arrows from his son’s body and went in search of the other son. He had not proceeded far when his wounded son overtook him and both followed the tracks of the other son. At last they came across him fighting desperately with hostile warriors, and they ran to help him.

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Old Katonao tripped on his snowshoes and was captured. The two sons tried hard to save their father and endeavored to pull him from the hostile warriors, but he asked them to let him be taken.

The hostile warriors resolved not to kill Katonao at once, but reserve him for a feast. They treated him with great cruelty on the journey, sometimes dragging him naked through the snow and tying him to the sled exposed all night to the cold. They gave him old skins to eat. As soon as the warriors arrived home they tied old Katonao up, and resolved to sacrifice him on the morrow. They placed him in a tent with an old man as guard. Orders were given to cook Katonao for the feast, but some of the women cried out that there were lots of partridges in the woods. The old man then asked the warriors if Katonao and the women could go hunting the partridges, and they consented. Katonao then took up his bow and arrows and killed many partridges. In hunting these birds he wandered farther and farther away from his captors, and at last he made a dash for liberty. He was still naked and suffered much in making his escape. He had not gone far when he saw the warriors in full chase, so he hid in the snow and killed two of them as they ran past him. He then took off their clothes, fixed himself up, and started in search of his sons.

When the warriors came upon their dead comrades, they returned to the camp and blamed the old man for asking Katonao to go out hunting. Then they called him and killed him for the feast. When Katonao arrived at the tent of one of his sons, he found him making snowshoes. He walked on farther and found the other son making a canoe. Katonao shot an arrow into him and chased him into the tent. The other son came up, and seeing what Katonao was doing was about to put him to death, but the wounded boy cried out for him to spare his father, so Katonao was spared and lived with his sons for a long time.

A big perch

When a hunter vanishes from his companions on Lake Mistassini’s shores, he reappears claiming to have visited the lake’s bottom, encountering fish of every kind and a colossal perch unable to turn in deep waters. His account gives rise to the timeless and wondrous “big perch” legend, passed from father to son, eclipsing modern sea serpent stories and preserving its rich ancestral lore.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Underworld Journey: The hunter’s descent to the lake’s bottom parallels a voyage into a realm beyond the living world.

Mythical Creatures: The colossal perch transcends ordinary biology, embodying a legendary beast.

Echoes of the Past: The tale’s transmission from father to son preserves ancestral memory across generations.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Some Indian hunters were camped along the shores of Lake Mistassini. As fish and game were plentiful they were happy and contented. One evening they missed one of their number, and though they searched everywhere could not find him. They had many days given him up for dead, when he surprised them by calmly walking into camp. On their asking him where he had been he told the following story:

“That night you lost me I was at the bottom of the lake, where I saw all kinds of fish, some pretty, some ugly, and some savage. There was one perch so large that he could not turn around in the lake, but had to swim up and down without turning.”

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The above story has been handed down from father to son, and even today Indians refer to the “big perch,” just as seriously as if it really existed. Lake Mistassini is 120 miles long and 20 miles wide, so the legend far eclipses the white man’s story of the sea serpent.

The painted canoe

An old man lives blissfully with his daughter until she marries, prompting him to attempt repeatedly to kill his sons-in-law through freezing or drowning. Each victim survives his treachery using cunning. Eventually, the younger son-in-law crafts an exquisitely decorated canoe as a gift; entranced, the old man ventures out in a sudden storm and vanishes, finally undone by the device meant to test its craftsmanship.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Good vs. Evil: The old man’s repeated, malicious attempts to kill his son-in-law pit pure malice against the young man’s struggle for survival.

Revenge and Justice: Ultimately, the son-in-law turns the tables on his father-in-law, ensuring the old man’s disappearance as retribution.

Cunning and Deception: The narrative hinges on strategic deceit: ambush in woods, canoe sabotage, and swapped boots.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Long ago an old man and his daughter lived by the shore of a river. They were very happy until an Indian came along and married the daughter.

The old man resolved, however, not to be so easily deprived of his only comfort, so he took his son-in-law out into the woods and left him to freeze to death.

To the dismay of the old man the daughter married again, so he at once set about treating this young man as he had done the other. In the spring at the time the sturgeon spawns he invited his son-in-law to go out with him to spear the fish.

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The young man happened to step on the edge of the canoe, and the old man, taking advantage of the chance thrown in his way, jerked the canoe to one side, and the young man fell into the rapid. When he came to the surface he saw the canoe in the distance, but managed by swimming hard to reach land in safety. When the old man came ashore he was questioned as to the whereabouts of the young man, and replied that he supposed his son-in-law must be drowned, as he fell out of the canoe. To his astonishment they told him that his treachery was discovered and that the young man was alive in his tent.

The old man next invited his son-in-law to go hunting with him, and again he agreed. They journeyed far from their tent and camped in the woods. At night-time it is the custom of the Indians to hang their boots before the fire to dry. The old man and his son-in-law did this, but the young man, suspecting treachery, changed the position of the boots and hung his own where his father-in-law’s had been placed. The old man arose in the night, took his son-in-law’s boots and put them in the fire, never dreaming that he was about to become the victim of his own treachery. He then aroused the young man and told him his boots were on fire. The young man on coming out of the tent said, “These must be your boots. Mine are on your poles and are all right.” He then put on his boots and left his father-in-law to freeze to death. He had not gone far before he heard footsteps behind him, and upon waiting saw that the old man had tied brush (twigs of fir-tree) upon his feet, and was all right.

The young man saw that there would be no peace until he could rid himself forever of his father-in-law’s company. He made a canoe and painted the inside more beautifully than any canoe had before been painted. He also made handsome paddles and presented these to the old man, who was delighted and became so anxious to try the merits of his new canoe that he went out without noticing the threatening weather. He was so taken up with the beautiful way in which the canoe was decorated that he gave no heed to his course. A storm sprang up, and he was never seen nor heard from again.

The birth of Lake Mistassini

On a hunting expedition, two brothers split. At a secret pool one encounters a giant mother otter and her multi-colored pups. He runs to tell his brother, who returns eagerly to join him; when they fire, the waters boil, flood the land, and chase the brothers relentlessly. Fleeing to high rocks at Mistassini post, one is devoured, the deluge ceases, and the lake forms.

Source:
Folk-Lore of the Cree Indians
by Fred Swindlehurst
The American Folklore Society
Journal of American Folklore
Vol.18, No.69, pp. 139-143
April-June, 1905

► Themes of the story

Origin of Things: The tale explains the creation of the lake at Mistassini through the flood caused by the otter’s wrath.

Conflict with Nature: The brothers’ attempt to hunt the otter provokes a catastrophic flood, pitting humans against the forces of nature.

Mythical Creatures: The enormous mother otter and her vividly hued pups are legendary beasts central to the story.

► From the same Region or People

North America
- Sub-Arctic Region
  - Cree Lore

Learn more about the Cree people

Two brothers went out on a hunting excursion. They separated at a certain point, and each took a different route. One of them came to a small pool and saw in the water an enormous otter. He was just about to kill it when several young otters emerged from the pool. He noticed that they were of different colors, some red, some blue, and some green. Amazed at the unusual sight, he ran to inform his brother of the strange occurrence. The brother wished to go back and shoot the animals, so they started off together. As soon as the old otter made her appearance, one of the brothers fired. It dived, and immediately the water of the pool began to boil and foam and flood the surrounding land. The brothers ran in opposite directions and the water followed them. At last one of them was brought to a halt at some high rocks near the post of Mistassini, and the old otter devoured him. The waters then ceased to rise, and the lake remained as it is today.

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