MJJ-Ghost Lover
suw’ ’aalhstum thuw’nilh, ’aalhstum.
They helped her aboard
sis ’uw’ yu thu’i’tstul ’u tthuw’nilh swiw’lus, sta’lusths.
And she was with her young husband as they lay together.
sis ’uw’ huye.e.e’ ’ushul ’u tu’i.
And they left to paddle here.
tahw ’uw’ taal ’u tu’inu na’usum ’u tthu shni’s tthu si’she’lh, kw’unilh yuhw ts’a’lu.
They paddled straight toward Sechelt; that’s where it must have been.
m.m.m.m, suw’ yu ’i’shul’ yu ’i’shul’ tthuw’nilh, teti’ teti’ tthu shq’uq’a’wulhs.
He was paddling and paddling, racing along as a crew.
’i’ stl’i’s kws ’umut-s thuw’nilh lemutus, ’i’ kwun’e.e.etum’.
The young girl tried to sit up to look, but she was held down.
’uwu stl’i’sus kws lumnuhws tu’i ’ush’i’shul’.
They didn’t want her to see who was paddling.
ni.i.i’ wulh m’i kweyul.
And dawn came.
suw’ xut’us, “huye’ ’ushule! ’ushule! hwuw’ee’uhw xi’uhw.”
They kept saying, “Paddle on, paddle on, before you are exposed!”
“hmm hm, hmm hm!”, wusuts’.
[The response was that of an owl sound,] “hmm hm, hmm hm!” was the sound.
’u wulh si’si’ thuw’nilh.
She became frightened.
’a.a.a! spulpulqwitth’e’ ’a’lu.”
“Ah! The must be ghosts!”
mmmmmm, ni’ wulh m’i yu kwekwiyul’, ni’ wulh ts’imul yuhw ts’u.
Hmmm, This continued on till the wee hours of the morning, and they must have been getting closer.
ni’ wulh wutum’uqw kw’i q’lhan, “’ushule, ’ushule ’uweehw xi’uhw.”
They kept telling them, “Paddle on, paddle on, before you are exposed!”
“hmm hm, hmm hm hm!”
[The response was,] “hmm hm, hmm hm hm!”
nuw’ yu xut’u ’ul’, nuw’ yu xut’u ’ul’, ’i’ niw’ ’uw’kw’.
Now, they were close to their destination.
ni’ wulh qwsuthut tthu ’iile’uq.
And the one in the stern jumped into the water.
ni’ wulh puylhthut tthu ’i sthitsth ’i’ ni’ qwsuthut.
Suddenly, her intended disentangled himself and also jumped into the water.
wulh kweyul
Now it was daylight
xee.ee.eems thuw’nilh, xeem, xeem.
She started to cry and cry and cry.
[suw’] kwunut-s ’i’ m’i q’axustus tthu snuhwulh tthu q’xhuw’lh sus ’uw’ ’ushul lheel.
She took one of the smaller canoes and paddled to shore.
suw’ hun’lhultnamut-s tsum’ut-s tthuw’ hay luxwtuns suw’ tsa.a.am.
She managed to reach the shore, and she packed up all the blankets she had.
ni’ thxutus tthu q’xhuw’lh wuqw’utus.
She pushed the canoe downstream.
tsa.am—lhihw smeent, yuse’lu smeent thu yul’ew’shus.
She travelled uphill—two or three mountains she passed by.
’i’ ni’ tus ’u kwu’i tl’itl’up ’u thu smunmunut.
And she came to the foot of the mountains.
suw’ lumnuhwus tu’i sum’qw’uyi’yus se.e.ey—nilh shni’s tthu p’q’ul’qun’ kws ni’s ’a’kw’thut— ’i’ tthu qux stth’oom.
She saw a pile of goat wool—his was where the the goats rubbed themselves—and plenty of berries.
sis ’uw’ hwuni’, sis ’uw’ thuytus tthu saaqw’um hwu stslelum’s.
This was where she settled, and she fashioned the reedy plants into a shelter.
suw’ ni.i.i’ … suw’ ’i.i.i’shul’ tthu ’ul’elushs sew’q’t.
All her siblings paddled around searching for her.
’i.i.i.’ ’uwu te’, ’uwu te’.
But there was no sign of her.
tthu qux sil’anum kws sew’q’te’wut.
They looked for her for many years.
sus ’uw’ (hunum’) nem’ ’i’mush tthu si’she’lh mustimuhw, ’i’mush, q’aq’i’utus tthu p’q’ul’qun’.
The Sechelt menfolk would travel around hunting for mountain goats.
kw’uw’ ni’ wulh s’itth’ums tthuw’ne’ullh.
This is what they used for their clothing .
si.i.is ’uw’ nem’ tl’pil tthu na’nuts’a’ nanum tthuw’ne’ullh wet yuhw ts’a’lu kw’u kwunnuhw lhu ni’ ’ikw’ slheni’ ’i tsam.
One of the men went up the mountain, and the other men were conversing about the missing woman, wondering who would find her.
ni’ wulh tul’num kwsus tsam, hwun’ xut’u ’i’ wulh lumnuhwus thuw’nilh.
They did hear through the grapevine that she, in fact, went up the mountain.
ni’ wulh yul’ew ’u tthu smun’munt suw’ lumnuhw tthu tl’ey’q’um’.
The one man who left continued over two mountains, and suddenly he saw smoke.
sis ’uw’ ne.e.em’ tl’pil.
He went toward the place where he had seen the smoke.
suw’ kwunnuhws, slheni’, wulh nilh ’a’lu thulh qwul’qwul’stuhws, “nuwwe’ ’u lhu ’i ’ikw’?”
When he approached and saw the lady, he asked her, “Are you the lady who has been missing?”
[hwtulqun thu slheni’,] “’a ’unthu.”
[And she said,] “Yes, I am that person.”
suw’ yuthust-s ’u tthu ni sla’thut-s, “ni’ tsun q’el. nush ’i hum’i ’i’ pulqwitth’e’ yuhw ’a’lu thulh.”
She explained to him that she had believed these people, but they were all ghosts.
’a suw’ sul’i.i.its’ thu lelum’s ’u tthu swuqw’a’lh they’tus ni’ hwu ’i’tth’um’ thuw’nilh.
He looked around her house, and it was filled with a variety of beautiful knitting—blankets, clothing, etc.—that she had made since she was lost.
’i’ thu qux, sts’uy’hw, hwkw’hwamuls qux.
She also had dried berries and meat.
’i’ thu knis [- kws ni’s] lhe’lhkw’itul’ tthuw’ne’ullh p’q’ul’qun’ ’i’ ni’ q’aaytul.
The meat she managed to obtain when the goats fought and killed each other.
sis ’uw’ kw’its’utus thuw’nilh ’i’ ni’ yu ts’ey’hwtus.
She then butchered and dried the meat.
sis ’uw’ nem’ t’ahw tthuw’nilh.
He returned to where the hunters were.
ha’ ’uwu te’ skwulushs
If there’s nothing shot…
suw’ putum’s tthu sun’tl’e’, “niilh ch ’a’lu ’uw’ ’untsu ’ul’ ’u shus ’uwu te’ ’in’ skwulush?”
The older brother asked him, “Where have you been, and why don’t you have any catch?”
’i’ ’u.u.uwu kws qwals.
And he would never answer or tell them anything.
wulh tus ’u tthu slhihws skweyul nuw’ hunum’ul’, yelhs m’i tsum’umustum ’u thu sts’uy’hws smuyuth, sts’uy’hw stth’oom.
On the third day, he returned with dried meat and dried berries that he had packed on his back.
“’uw’ thu’it tsun p’e’ ni’ kwunnuhw shushuyulh lhu huy’thtum slheni’.
He then explained to them that it was true; he had found her.
’i’ nan ’uw’ ’uwu te’ ’un’ slet kw’us hum’i t’uhwstuhw nan ’uw’ qux s’ilhuw’a.”
“But, she has so many belongings, it is impossible to transport her back home.”
sus ’uw’ tsam tthuw’ne’ullh ’i’ m’i t’uhwstum sus ’uw’ hwu ’i.
The men went and helped with whatever they could manage to take and brought her home.
tsam tthu slhunlheni’ nilh kwthu ni’ kw’am’kw’um’ nilh m’i tsum’ut tthu s’ilhuw’a thu stth’oom, tthu sts’uy’hw smuyuth.
After they arrived home, they recruited whoever was strong, men, women, and teenagers, to go and help with all her belongings, berries, and dried meat.
sis ’uw’ hwu tsetsuw’ sis ’uw’ kwunum thuw’nilh (’i tutum ch).
They got down to the beach and grabbed her.
nilh kwu’elh sis muw’ t’ukw’stum ’u tthu shhwhuw’welis thuw’nilh.
And this is how her relatives took her home.
sis ’uw’ hwu ’a’mut ’u tthu shhwhuw’welis ni’ kwunum.
She was now home with her parents.
ni’ hay nilh ’uw’ sht’es ’ul’ tthu sxwi’em’; nilh ’uw’ sht’es ’ul’!
That is how the story goes!