qw’ulaam’ | The Woman Who Had Puppies

by Elsie Canute

1. EC: [Crow saying:] tumuqwosheen [the sound of the crow].
   1. N (this is cut off the beginning of the tape)
2. tl’lim’ ’uw’ qwulsheen’, tl’e’ wulh lhum’uhw.
   1. It was pouring down, and again it was raining.
3. nilh p’e’ kw’unus yuthusam’eelh ’u kwthey’ ’i’ nan ’uw’ tl’eqt— tl’e.e.eqt [laughter].
   1. I guess I’ll tell you about this, and it’s very long, looong.
4. RP: ni’ p’e’ ’uw’ nilhus kwthu xut’usthwuhw…
   1. Maybe you should speak about what you were talking about…
5. EC: qw’ulaam’.
   1. About Qw’ulaam’.
6. ’i’ ts’u tsmun’u thu slheni’, suw’ qulnum ’u tthu shhwuw’welis.
   1. Yes, so this young woman gave birth to babies, and her parents got mad at her.
7. lemutum tthu me’mun’us ’i’ sqwuli’qwmi’ tthu me’mun’us, suw’ qulnum.
   1. When they looked at her children, they were all puppies, so they got mad at her.
8. ’i’ ’uw’ tssi’lu’ thuw’nilh.
   1. And she had a grandmother.
9. suw’ xe.e.e.em’ thu susule’.
   1. And she was crying for her.
10. suw’ kwun’num ’u tthu quye’mun suw’ kwunutum tthu p’uts’t suw’ punutum.
    1. And the grandmother got the seashells and took some hot coals and put them in there, and she buried them.
11. suw’ lhequtus thu ’imuths.
    1. And she whispered to her granddaughter, telling her what she did.
12. wulh huliye’ tantum, nem’ ’u thu nuts’a’ skwthe’, tantum thuw’nilh tsme’mun’u ’u tthu sqwumey’—xuthiinu.
    1. And the family left and went to another island; they left that girl who gave birth to puppies—four of them.
13. wul’u [tthu me’mun’us thuw’nilh ni’] nem’ tantum.
    1. They left her behind.
14. wulh xe.e.e.em’ thuw’nilh s’eluhw, xeem’utus thu ’imuths.
    1. And the grandmother kept crying for her granddaughter.
15. wulh huye’s t’hwalhs thuw’nilh slheni’.
    1. And the young lady went down to the beach and went clam digging.
16. suw’ sht’ewun’s, “nutsim’ yuhw ’ul’u kwu’elh shus st’e ’u tthey’ tthu nu me’mun’u.”
    1. And she wondered, “I wonder why my babies are like that.”
17. sht’es kws nem’ t’ahw ’u tthu tse’tsuw’, hun’tsew suw’ t’hwalh, suw’ kwun’utus tthu s’itth’ams ’i’ ’akw’ustus ’u tthu ni’ miq’utus sts’esht, ni’ shhw’akw’ust-s.
    1. She went down to the river and started digging clams, and then she decided to put her digging stick in the ground and left it there.
18. na’nuts’a’ tthu p’e’ shlemuxutuns.
    1. And then one [of her children] was a watchman.
19. sht’e’s ’u kw’ ’un’s hiw’a’lum’, kw’un’s ’ay’stuhw kw’un’s tuw’ ni’stuhw kwun’ shlemuxutun.
    1. You know how it is when you’re playing; you always leave someone as a watchman.
20. (suw’ xut’u’s ts’u tthey’ shlel’muxutun’,) lhelhuqum’, “’a.a.ah nu’uth ’uw’ t’ut’hwa’ulh, nu’uth ’uw’ t’ut’hwa’ulh.”
    1. (And he looked down and checked on his mother, and he said,) whispering, “She’s still digging clams, she’s still digging clams.”
21. ’i’ ’i ts’u wulh tth’itth’uqus thu tsi’tsut.
    1. But the mother was already sneaking up on them, spying.
22. ’e’ut sum’qw’a’yi’yus tthey’ ’i’ ’uw’ shhwile’nuqs ’ul’ kws sqwumqwumey’s.
    1. And they had all their dog pelts piled up in one place.
23. xi(i)mutus thu tsi’tsut suw’ yuqwtum!
    1. And the mother ran in and scooped up all the pelts and threw them in the fire!
24. ’uw’ mul’stimuhw.
    1. They were people.
25. suw’ tsset-s tthu me’mun’us, “nem’ tseep kwu’elh sha’lukw’um.”
    1. And she told them, “You all go for a bath.”
26. suw’ shakw’um tthuw’ne’ullh, ’i’ nilh kwu’elh tthuy’ xpey’tsus, (ni’sh yukw’uthut-s).
    1. And they went for a bath, and they used the cedar bough to scrub themselves with.
27. ’i’ nilh kws wulh xt’e’st-hwus ’u tu’inulh (hwisutus) ’i’ ni.i.i’ wulh hwu qux slhewut’.
    1. And when they were scrubbing themselves with the cedar bough, and they shook it, the nettles dropping into the water turned into herrings.
28. suw’ nilh yuhw kwu’elh they’ q’uleq’e’ kwunut tthey’ ts’um’ut they’ slhewut’.
    1. And the crow came along and took some herrings and swallowed them.
29. ’i’ ni’ hwun’ xe.e.em’ thu s’eluhw tswe’ ts’imuth, ni’ wa’lu wulh sts’a’muqws kwthey’ stl’ul’iqulh.
    1. And the grandmother kept crying for her granddaughter and those children, her great grandchildren.
30. hwun’ xeem ts’u wulh qwul, “qw’ulaam’, qw’a’qw’ulaam’.”
    1. And the crow was saying, “qw’ulaam’, qw’a’qw’ulaam’.”
31. nilh kwu’elh ’unsh ts’its’elhum’ut thu q’uleq’e’ kws xut’us, “qw’ulaam’, qw’ulaam’.”
    1. And that’s what the crow says, it’s from that.
32. wulh hwya’utustum thu s’eluhw kwunut-s suw’ qw’ulut-s.
    1. And then the crow went and puked out some herrings, and the old lady says, “I think I’ll barbecue this.
33. suw’ pte’mutewut, “chul’u’ tun’untsustuhw tthey’?”
    1. [She asked the crow, whispering,] “Where did you get that from?” 
34. suw’ qwilqwul’s, “’i’ p’e’ shya’utustham’shs lhu q’i’q’uleqe’.
    1. Then she was telling everybody, “The crow threw up to me, and it was all herrings.”
35. shya’utustham’shs lhu q’i’q’luqe’ yath tsun kwu’elh ’uw’ ye’num’ul’.
    1. I used to think that was funny, because the crow threw up herrings.
36. ’u kwunus tsi’tselhumut thu q’uleq’e’, kws thut-s, “qw’ulaam’, qw’ulaam’.”
    1. And every time I hear a crow, I think of that story, because it says, “qw’ulaam’, qw’ulaam’.”
37. ’ah! muy, ni’ tsu[n] mel’qt thu nu shtulalus.
    1. I forgot my glasses.
38. nilh ’uw’ shtu’e’sul kwey’.
    1. That’s it for that story.
39. ni’ tl’utl’its’ kwthey’.
    1. It’s not very long.
40. ’i’ hay’ kwthey’ nuts’a’ yelhs p’e’ stuw’ tl’eqt-s.
    1. The other one is longer.
41. RP: nilh stem’
    1. What is it?