Stories of the Cahto Tribe
The Placing of the Animals
Line-by-line Translation (within the limits of English readability)
by Bill Ray (Daatcaahaal-kwaatc'ileeh) - 1909
Two boys went away, they say.
He (the old man) carried some ropes, they say.
There was a fire, they say.
The old man: "Set snares, boys; let two be caught in each place."
"Let two sticks stand on end."
Four went (all together), they say.
They set snares in the brush, they say.
They caught one, they say.
They drove again and caught one, they say.
He put brush on him (one of the boys), they say.
He looked away to the south, they say.
Again he put brush on him (the other boy), they say.
"Quick, take the brush off," he said, they say.
"Again, take the brush off (of the other boy)."
A spike buck.
Again, he took it off of a fawn, they say.
The boys came back, they say.
"Where did he go that he hasn't come back?" he said, they say.
"Where is the other one that he hasn't come back?" he said, they say.
"Where did my boy go?"
"They went north," he said, they say.
"Well, I will track them."
He did not find their tracks, they say.
"Well, I will also track them."
"There are none; I didn't find them," he said, they say.
"I found grizzly tracks," he said, they say.
"There were no human tracks," he said, they say.
He came back.
He didn't find their tracks
"Butcher the two deer."
"You did very well with deer, my boys," he said, they say.
He gave them some.
There was a fire.
"Roast its stomach and liver."
"Let's taste it."
"It smells good," he said, they say.
He bit it.
He chewed it, they say.
He swallowed it.
"It is good."
"You, put it in your mouth," he said, they say.
"I'll taste it, too," he said, they say.
An adolescent girl: "I will taste," she said, they say.
"I, too, I will taste it," she said, they say.
There was a row up there, they say.
"I, too, I will taste it."
"Hey, it's good," she said, they say.
"I'll try it raw," she said, they say.
Again, another adolescent girl said, they say.
"I, too, I'll taste it," she said, they say.
"I, too, I'll taste it," the adolescent girl said, they say.
"I, too, I'll taste it," she said, they say.
An old woman: "I will taste it," she said, they say.
Old men: "I will taste the deer head; I'll also taste the its stomach," he said, they say.
"I will break the bones for marrow," he said, they say.
"Well, I will taste its ears," he said, they say.
"I will pound its feet."
"I will put its tongue in the fire," he said, they say.
"I will stretch its hide," he said, they say.
"The two hides are good for my blanket," he said, they say.
"Pound acorns."
"Soak them."
"We will eat soup."
"Give the dog the bones. Let him chew them," he said, they say.
She put them down.
The dog ate deer bones.
"Where is the mush with it?" he said, they say.
"Give it to them," he said, they say.
"We will drive deer for him," he said, they say.
"Many of you go."
"Carry arrows."
"Put a knife in a sack and carry it," he said, they say.
"Carry two fire-sticks, to build a fire when a deer is shot and will be butchered," he said, they say.
A deer was shot again.
A deer was shot again, they say.
"Take the dog."
"He will catch the deer."
"Butcher it."
"Carry it to the house."
"The women will eat it," he said, they say.
"Roast it.
"Go to sleep."
"You are tired from the deer," he said, they say.
"Go to sleep."
"Tomorrow, tomorrow you will stay," the chief said, they say.
"All of you girls take a bath, bathe," he said, they say.
"Wash your heads," he said, they say.
"You will only live by the river tomorrow, after that Black Rock," he said, they say.
"You will make arrowheads," he said, they say.
"You will eat clover."
"You will eat ground-squirrels."
"You will kill and eat many jack-rabbits," he said, they say.
"You will carry bear-clover."
"You will carry Angelica."
"You will carry tciighiltcaantc-bulbs from the north," he said, they say.
"You will kill grouse," he said, they say.
"You will carry their eggs," he said, they say.
"You will carry quail eggs."
"You will kill many wood-rats," he said, they say.
The old man threw deer bones to the east, they say.
He threw bones to the north, they say.
He threw bones to the south, they say.
He threw bones to the coast, they say.
"There will be grizzlies in the east," he said, they say.
"There will be mountain lions in the east," he said, they say.
"There will be bobcats in the east," he said, they say.
"There will be grizzlies in the south," he said, they say.
"There will be mountain lions in the south," he said, they say.
"There will be bobcats in the south," he said, they say.
"There will be mountain lions on the coast," he said, they say.
"There will be grizzlies on the coast," he said, they say.
"There will be bobcats on the coast," he said, they say.
Fishers came into being in the east, they say.
Foxes came into being in the east, they say.
Raccoons came into being in the east, they say.
Coyotes came into being in the east, they say.
Striped skunks came into being in the east, they say.
Otters came into being in the east, they say.
Minks came into being in the east, they say.
Black bears came into being in the east, they say.
Rattlesnakes came into being in the east, they say.
Bull-snakes came into being in the east, they say.
Water-snakes came into being in the east, they say.
King snakes came into being in the east, they say.
Lizards came into being in the east, they say.
Frogs came into being in the east, they say.
Salamanders came into being in the east, they say.
Night eels, day eels, and suckers came into being in the east, they say.
Trout, hook-bill salmon, and black salmon came into being in the east, they say.
Steelheads came into being in the east, they say.
"Get some stones to pound its bones."
"Pound its bones," he said, they say.
"They are good."
"Pound the backbone," he said, they say.
"Pound its knee," he said, they say.
"Pound its other knee," he said, they say.
"Pound its foot," he said, they say.
"Pound its hand," he said, they say.
"You must always pound the bones."
"Do not waste them."
"Deer bones are good," he said, they say.
"Clean out its big stomach."
"Braid its small intestines."
"Do it well."
"Take away its horns and take them in the brush to hide them."
"Deer tallow is good," he said, they say.
"Kill deer all the time," he said, they say.
"Put feathers on arrows."
"Make knives."
"Scrape bows."
"Weave sacks," he said, they say.
"Weave head-nets," he said, they say.
"Twine basket-pots," he said, they say.
"Peck pestles," he said, they say.
"Twine mill-baskets," he said, they say.
"Twine basket-pans and twine small basket-pans," he said, they say.
"Twine large basket-pots and small basket-pots."
"Twine basket-dippers and seed-beaters," he said, they say.
"Twine basket-cradles for babies," he said, they say.
The deer will shed their horns when they are "diltsow" (?), they say.
Their horns will fall off in the middle of winter.
They gathered up the deer.
They made it (deer meat) into packs.
They carried it away, they say.
Two of them carried it, they say.
They brought home.
It is roasted.
They ate it.
Women ate it.
Children ate it.
They stretched the hides, they say.
Much rope is twisted, they say, iidaakii(?) rope is made.
A deer was shot.
It went away still alive, they say.
They shouted, they say.
The deer was tracked, they say, one with big horns.
The dog caught it, they say.
He smelled it, they say.
That is all.
Translation Version
by Professor Pliny Earle Goddard - 1909
Two boys went away.
An old man carried some ropes. There was a fire there. "Set snares," he told his young men. "Let there be two in a place. Set up two sticks-four all together." They went away and set the snares in the brush. One was caught. Again they drove one in, and it was caught. He put brush on one of the boys and looked away to the south. Then he put brush on the other one. "Quick, take the brush off," he said. "Again, take the brush off the other one." When they took the brush off, one had become a spike buck and the other a fawn.
"Where did he go that he hasn't come back?" the father of one of the boys asked. "Where did he go that he hasn't come back?" asked the other father. "They went north," some one said. "Well, I will look for the tracks," said one father. He did not find tracks. "Well, I, too, will look for tracks," said the other father. "There were none," he reported. "I did not find human tracks, but I saw grizzly tracks."
The old man butchered the deer. "You did well with deer, my boys," he told his sons. There was a fire there. He gave pieces of the meat to the boys. They roasted the stomach and the liver for him. "Let us try it. It smells good," he said. He bit into it. He chewed and swallowed it. "It is good, "he said, "put it in your mouth." "Well, I will try it," he said.
"I will try it," said the adolescent girl. "I, too, will try it." She was sitting up there. " It is good, "she said. "I will try it raw." Another adolescent girl said, "I will try it." The old woman said, "I, too, will try it." "I will try the head of the deer, I will try the stomach," said the old man. "I will break the bones for the marrow. I will taste the ears. I will pound the feet. I will put the tongue in the fire to roast. I will stretch the hides. The two hides are good. They will be my blanket."
"Pound acorns and soak the meal," he told the women, "that we may eat mush." "Give the bones to the dog. Let him chew them." She put them down. The dog ate the deer bones. "Where is the mush to be eaten with it?" he asked. "Give it to them." "We will drive deer for him," he said. "Come, carry arrows. Put a knife in a sack and carry it. Take the two fire-sticks, so you can build a fire when the deer is shot and be ready for butchering."
A deer was shot. Again one was shot. "Take the dog to catch the deer. Butcher it. Carry it to the house. The women will eat it. Cook it. Go to sleep. You will stay at home tomorrow," said the chief. "Sit down, girls. All go and bathe. Tomorrow you will go to Black rock. You will make arrowheads."
"You may eat clover. You may eat ground-squirrels. You may kill and eat many jack-rabbits. You may bring bear-clover. You may bring angelica shoots. From the north you may bring bulbs. You may kill grouse. You may bring their eggs. You may bring quail eggs. You may kill many wood-rats."
The old man threw bones of the deer to the east. He threw them to the north. He threw them to the south. He threw them toward the coast. "Grizzlies will be to the east, "he said. "Panthere will be to the east. Wildcats will be to the east. Grizzlies will be to the south. Panthers will be to the south. Wildcats will be to the south. Panthers will be near the coast. Grizzlies will be near the coast. Wildcats will be near the coast."
Fishers became in the east. Foxes became in the east. Raccoons became in the east. Coyotes became in the east. Skunks became in the east. Otters became in the east. Minks became in the east. Black bears became in the east. Rattlesnakes became in the east. Bullsnakes became in the east. Watersnakes became in the east. Adders became in the east. Lizards became in the east. Frogs became in the east. Salamanders became in the east. Eels, day eels, and suckers became in the east. Trout, hook-bill salmon, and black salmon became in the east. Spring salmon became in the east.
"Get some stones," he said. "Pound the bones. They are good. Pound the backbone. Pound the knee. Pound the other knee. Pound the foot. Pound the hand. All the time you must pound the bones. You must not waste them. Deer bones are good. Clean out the stomach. Braid the small intestines. Do it well. Take away the horns and hide them in the brush. Deer tallow is good.
"Kill deer all the time. Feather arrows. Make knives. Scrape bows. Make sacks. Weave head-nets. Make basketpots. Peck pestles. Weave mill-baskets. Weave basket-pans. Weave the small basket-pans. Weave the large basket-pots. Weave the small basket-pots. Weave the basket-dipper and the seed-beaters. Make the basket-cradle for the small children, "The deer when blue shall shed their horns. In mid-winter they will fall off."
They gathered up the deer. They made the meat into bundles. They carried it away. Two of them brought it home. They roasted it. Men, women, and children ate it. They stretched the hides. They twisted many ropes.
A deer was shot. It ran away crippled. They shouted. They tracked it. Its horns were large. The dog smelled it. He caught it.
That is all.
(Based on Cahto oral traditions and beliefs)
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