Elwood Modeste: ts’uw’xilum

(1) sqwul’qwul’ ’u kwthu ts’uw’xilum.
The story of Tzouhalem.

(2) ’i’ stl’i’s kws hwu shne’ums.
And he wanted to become an Indian doctor.

(3) sus ’uw’ stl’i’s kws hays ’i ’u tthu tl’elhum qa’ kws suwq’s kw’ m’i tse’ hwu shne’ums.
And he wanted to especially to be in the salt water to seek that which would make him a shaman.

(4) sus ’uw’ yu hun’qum’utus tthuw’ mukw’ ’untsu tun’ni’ ’utl’… tu’i xinupsum.
He was diving everywhere from here at Greenpoint.

(5) sus ne.e.em’ ’uw’ xwte’ ’u kw’i sqtheq yu hun’qum’ ’u tthu nuw’…
And he went on over toward the narrows, going along, diving [down]…

(6) ’uwu kw’s tsakws ’i’ ni’ tl’uw’ wulh nuqemutus tthu ni’ yu shhwune.e.em’s.
It was not far, and he dived again toward the place where he was going.

(7) yu sew’q’tus kw’ ni’ tse’ shkw’am’kw’um’s kws hwu shne’ums.
He was seeking what would be his power so that he could become a shaman.

(8) sus ne.e.em’ ’uw’ tus ’u kw’i sqtheq kwus yu xut’e’ ’u tthey’, yu hun’qum’.
And he went on and got to the narrows doing that, diving.

(9) xut’u ’i’ ni’ wulh hwu nin’sus tthu hwuhwul’i’wun’ tl’itl’up ’u tthu qa’, sus nem’ ’uw’ nuw’ilum.
He was doing that, and then he got to a cave way down in the water.

(10) sus nem’ ’uw’ nuw’ilum, ne.e.e.em’ nuw’ilum ’u tthey’ smeent.
And he went in. He went a long way inside that rock [cave].

(11) tus ’u tthu nuts’a’ ’i’ tl’lim’ hweluq ’i ’uwu ni’us yul’ew’ulnamut.
Coming to another [cave], he almost didn’t manage to get through.

(12) wulh tl’ulim’ nuw’ ’ulh tsulel ’i’ ’uwkw’ tthu slhekw’ums ’i’ yelh sus yul’ew’ ’u tthu qa’ ni’ ’u tthey’ shqwuqwe.
He was really almost running out of breath before he got through the water in that hole.

(13) si.i.i.is nem’ ’uw’ ts’tem nem’ ’uw’ yu shtetul’ ’u tthey’ ni’ nem’ shnuw’ilums.
He went along crawling, following along the place that he had entered.

(14) xut’u ’i wulh… xut’u ’i wulh tus ’u tthu ni.i.i’ thi ’u tthey’ shqwuqwe sun’iw’ ’u thu smeent.
Doing that, he then got to the big hollow inside the mountain.

(15) sus ne.e.m’ ’uw’ yu ’i’mush ’i’ wulh tus ’u tthu stl’eyuq’um.
He went walking along, and he came to where there was smoke.

(16) sus ’uw’ nem’ yu ’i’mush nem’ stl’i’s kws lumnuhws ’uw’ niis tun’untsu tthu stl’eyuq’um.
He kept walking along, wanting to see where the smoke was coming from.

(17) ’i’ nem’ wil’ ’i’… ’i’ ’aam’ut tthu ni’ ’u tthu tl’itl’up.
And [some people] came into view, sitting way down below.

(18) ’i ’uw’ slhunlheni’ ’al’ tthey’ ’aam’ut.
Those that were sitting were all women.

(19) xut’u ’i’ ni’ wulh lumnum, suw’ tssetum thu naan’ts’a’ [’uw’] nanus m’i.is t-sutum’i’ ’aatum ’uw’…’uw’ nem’us nuw’ilum. 
Eventually those ones saw him, and one was told to go approach him and call him to come inside.

(20) sus nem’ ’uw’ nem’ tthuw’nilh ts’uw’xilum, ’aa.
And Tzouhalem did go there, ah.

(21) suw’ tusth  hwuni’ ’u tthu shni’s tthu slhunlheni’ suw’ pte’mutum ’uw’ stemus kws stl’i’s.
And he arrived to where the women were, and they asked him what it is that he wanted.

(22) ’i’ ’uwu te’ shtatul’stuhw, suw’ thut-s ’al’ kws stl’i’s kws kwunnuhws kw’ shkw’am’kw’um’s.
But he didn’t know; he just said that he wanted to get something that would be his power.

(23) suw’ kwuyxthut-s  thu naan’ts’a’ slheni’ suw’ kwunutus thu yasa’qws, ’uw’ tuw’ nets’ ’al’ tthu yasa’qws.
One woman got up and took her hat—it was a rather strange hat.

(24) sus ’uw’ hukwumustum.
And she put it on him.

(25) suw’ thustum ’u they’ slheni’, “nilh kwelh ’un’ shkw’am’kw’um’ tse’ tthey’.
And that woman told him, “That will be your power.

(26) ’uwu te’ tse’ na.a.an’tsa’ swuy’qe’ q’aaythamu.
No man will ever kill you.

(27) ’uwu te’ naan’ts’a’ q’aaythamu tl’uhwla’us ’uw’ stl’eluqum’us ’i’ skw’ey kws q’aaythamut.”
No man will ever kill you; even if he is fierce, he won’t be able to kill you.”

(28) suw’ thut-stewut, “’i’…’i’ slheni’ tse’ thulh kwsu q’aaythamu ’u kwthuw’ tum’tem tse’ skweyul.”
And he was told, “But it will be a woman that kills you at some future time.”

(29) sus ’uw’ tssetum, “nem’ ch kwelh… nem’ ch kwelh t’akw’.”
And he was told, “You go on home now.”

(30) suw’ tssetum, “nem’ ch xwte’ ’u tu’inulh.”
And he was told, “You go this way.”

(31) hwi’ nets’ tthu ni’ nem’ shxwte’s stssetewut ’uw’ ne m’us shnem’s kws m’is hwu’alum’.
This time, it was a different direction that he was told to go when he came back out.

(32) ’i’…’i’ m’i wil’ kwus wulh m’i wil’ kwus m’i hwtelum ’u tthey’ shwuhwul’i’wun’ ’i’ m’i shhw’ewus kws m’i…m’i t’akw’.
He appeared when he appeared by following the passage that he took to get home.

(33) ’i’ hwi’ ’i ’u tthu s’uhutsun ’u thu xinupsum smeent kwus… kwus wil’.
And it was amazingly the other side of Greenpoint mountain where he showed up.

(34) tun’ni’ ’u kwthey’ ’i nilh ni’ wulh hwu sht’es kwus hwu kw’am’kw’um’ sus hwi’… sus hwi’ qxutus tthu slhunlheni’.
From that time, he seemed to become powerful, and he had a lot of women.

(35) ni’ xwixwu’etus ’u kwthu ni’ lumnuhwus slhunlheni’ sun’iw’ ’u kwthu smeent.
He was replicating the group of women that he had seen inside the mountain.

(36) mukw’ ’untsu ni’ hwi’ shhwunum’s kwus tstsehwum.
He went everywhere proposing.

(37) sus ’uw’ hwu sii’si’mutum’ ’uw’ t-hw’amustum ’a l’ ’u tthu ni’ shnem’s ’u tthu q’e’mi’, ni’ tl’e’ wulh huye’st-hwus.
They got so that they were afraid of him, so they would just give him what he came to get—a young girl—and he would take her away also.

(38) sus ’uw’ hwu qux tthu stul’ta’lusth.
And so, it got to where he had many wives.

(39) ha’ ni’ ni’ kwthu ni’ nan ’uw’ qulnuhw ’i’ nem’ nem’ stl’i’ kws q’aaytewut, ’i’ skw’ey kws q’aaytewut.
If someone should get mad at him and wanted to kill him, it was impossible to kill him.

(40) ha’ ni’ t’a’thut kwthu nem’ tl’its’ut kw’ q’aayt, ’i’ ni’ hwi’ ’uw’ st’e ’uw’ niis ’uw’ thima’tum nuw’ t-hwste’u ’al’ ’i’ ni’ q’aaytum.
If someone tried to go sneak up on him and kill him, it was like he was frozen just like that, and then he would be killed.

(41) xut’u ’i’ ni’ wulh nem’ hwtskwilum nem’ xwte’ ’utl’ pun’e’luxutth’.
After some time, he went further away, toward Penelakut.

(42) ’i’ ni’ wulh hwu statul’stum ’u tthuw’ mukw’ temts kws n’ans ’uw’ stl’eluqum mustimuhw.
He got to be known by every tribe as a fierce person.

(43) suw’ tus ’u tthey’ ni’ shnem’s wulh yu xixunum’ yu he’kwul’ush.
And he arrived where he was going already growling and shooting.

(44) sus ’uw’ ’ulh tl’shathut tthu mustimuhw ni’ tsam ’u tthu tsa’luqw.
And the people would split up and go up to higher ground.

(45) ’i’ hay tthu naan’ts’a’ ni.i.i’ huqilum ’u tthu lhxul’we’stun kwus kweel.
One crawled underneath the seating platforms [in the longhouse] to hide.

(46) ’i’ naan’ts’a’ thu sthis… naan’ts’a’ thu slheni’, thu thi kw’am’kw’um’ slheni’, kwunutus tthu pi’kwun.
And there was one woman, a big, strong woman, who took a roasting stick.

(47) sus ’uw’ kweel slhulhaal’we’lh ’u tthu shelh.
And she hid behind the door.

(48) sus ’uw’ hun’tsa’luqw tthey’ ’uw’ nilh ts’uw’xilum yu xixunum’.
When he came up from the beach, that one, Tzouhalem, came growling.

(49) nem’ hun’nuw’ ’u thu thi lelum’ sus ’uw’ nuwa’qwtus ’u tthu t’eluw’s thuw’nilh kwun’etus tthey’ pi’kwun, sus ’uw’… sus ’uw’ tqwutus.
He entered the longhouse, and she got his head inside her arms, holding that roasting stick, and she squeezed him.

(50) ’uwu te’ tl’e’ stsla’thut-s tthuw’nilh kwus… ts’uw’xilum kws me’namut-s, n’an ’uw’ kw’am’kw’um’ thu slheni’.
And there was nothing that Tzouhalem could do to free himself because that woman was  too strong.

(51) suw’ tuteem’ thu slheni’ ’uw’ m’iis ’ewu kw’u ts’ewut.
And the woman called for someone to come help her.

(52) hwun’ xut’u ’i’ wulh m’i.i.i quya’thut tthey’ naants’a ni’ si’q ’u tthu lhxul’we’stun.
Finally, the man that was underneath the seating platforms came out.

(53) nem’ wil’, ’i t’ut’a’thut kws stl’i’s kws me’namut-s tthuw’nilh, ’i’ skw’ey, ’i’ slhelhuq’ tthu thi lhets’tun’s—ni’ kwen’hwus.
He came out, and he [Tzouhalem] was trying to get himself free, but it was impossible, and his big knife was lying on the ground, and that man managed to get it.  

(54) suw’ kwunutus tthey’ tthu lhets’tun’ ’utl’ ts’uw’xilum suw’… sisuw’ t’qw’atum tthu sxa’yusth tthuw’nilh ts’uw’xilum
And he took Tzouhalem’s knife and cut off the head of that one, Tzouhalem.

(55) ni.i.i’ ts’u mukw’ ’untsu ni’ sht’usth kwus yu si’lum’ tthu sxa’yusth kwus… kwus q’etth’q’um’ thu yunusth kwus…
And it is said that his head was rolling around everywhere, and his teeth were grinding.

(56) ni.i.i’ ts’u hith kwus si’lum’ ni’ ’u tthu lhuxunuptuns thu thi lelum’ ’i’ yelh sus ’unuhw.
And it’s said that it was rolling for a long time on the longhouse floor before it stopped.

(57) ni’ ts’u mukw’ ’untsu ni’ shtus kwus yu tsetl’um’ tthu ’uw’ smustimuhwsulh tthuw’nilh ts’uw’xilum.
And it’s said that Tzouhalem’s body was jumping around everywhere.

(58) ni’ st’e ’u kw’uw’ ni’ t’qw’i’qwtum chukun.
It was like a chicken with its head cut off.

(59) suw’ q’ay.
And he died.

(60) nilh sxwi’em’ ’u kwthu ts’uw’xilumulh tthey’.
And that is the story of Tzouhalem.

(61) nilh ni’ shni’s kwus q’ay.
It was at that place that he died.

(62) ’i’ nilh nuw’ syuthustewut ’u kwthu ni shni’… shtun’ni’stuhws kwus kwunnuhwus tthu shkw’am’kw’um’s kws ’uwus te’ tse’ naan’ts’a’ swuy’qe’ q’aayt.
That’s what he was told from where he got his powers, that there will not be any man that will kill him.

(63) ’i’ slheni’ tse’ thulh kw’u q’aayt ’u kw’ ’uw’ tum’tem skwuyul.
But it was instead a woman that would kill him some day.

(64) That’s the story about Tzouhalem.