Did— oh, sorry.

Today is November the 27th, 1991, and this is Marge Bagen. Hugh and I are speaking to you from our home in Kelowna, British Columbia.

This recording is for our friends in Fort McPherson.

When we lived in Fort McPherson some 30 years ago, I invited the people to our house for tea, and they told some very interesting stories.

The next voices you hear were recorded in the RCMP house at Fort McPherson.

This 21st day of January 1961, I am happy to be able to record stories told by the Lushoot peoples of Fort McPherson. Our announcer during the recording will be Matthew Kendi.

All right, my friend, I tell you old-fashioned story.

Tonight.

Tonight. So long time ago, once all country animal could be meeting. Any animal and bird and ducks and wolf, bear, any animal make meeting. This says, people get in all, know all about it, make talk about people. But little bird, white round here, little thing here, that one. This says, no, this spoil it, that made, made in that little bird. They say that if no oil, nobody eat young, younger caribou. You don't want throw away young caribou. That's why that little bird, what he says, oil is evil. Well, anyway, that meeting people, Sure, the figure good, that little bird. Any younger, throw away, see? And that any younger, old lady and old man, he got to use the feet, you know? That little bird, we know. That's why he don't want any younger, throw away for nothing.

That's right.

If no oil, that's why little bird he don't like it. Well, that maiden people she says okay. Well, he getting oil back, you know. He don't he don't want that people he don't want oil, you know forever. But that little bird she says, listen, if no oil, lots of younger throw away. That's the law. That little book we know. Well, anyway, okay everybody, getting it all back. Now everybody getting it all now, and everybody can use glass now, you see?

She says, all right.

It's okay. All right, get in, everybody, forever. Well, after that, Mr. Modesty don't like that little bird.

It's hunting.

We see that little bird there. And that Modesty got rifle. He want to make shot. He don't want get in. Oh, that's why that little bird. He make a mole. That's why old Modeste don't like it, you see, that bird. If he got chance to see, sure he could shoot and make him burst. But lots of time miss that mole. It is small, never stop, you see. He can't shoot good. Lots of missing. Well, that little bird fly away.

After?

All that special coming, sure be glad again for that little bird, eh? Then the old Modeste would be glad. He got money for it all. If that little bird, he didn't make it, eh, if he didn't make it all, nobody get it, all that special. Now, that little bird, it sure make him good for old, old lady and old man. and the oil for all over, all over. That's an old-fashioned story. Thank you.

This story was told by Abraham Francis at Fort McPherson. Next story here is going to be told by Mr. William Wychoka.

I want to talk to you a word This time. One time we go away after New Year, the people go over the mountain. We got hard time. We think cowboy other side, but when all the people go over and behind, after go, we meet in other side, Skull Mountain Creek. It catch mountain. It catch people.

It catch mountain.

But no caribou. Very few caribou. We see them, everybody get little meat. I be there. I don't know what I going to do. The people come tonight, try We go over the fish lake. Cold weather that time. We got a hard time. You got a man family, just think about hard time. But all right, that's all right. You go through the porcupine, porcupine, eagle, stony, stone rubble, eagle. Fish Lake. One time that day, it was 75 blue. We hunt in the morning before daylight. I know everybody got a hard time, but before daylight, we move it. We go across the Eagle Pass Fish Lake and go over, look for caribou. That day, very hard time. Just think about me. No sign, nothing. Lots of people can do nothing, just move it firmly. But me and Jean Modeste—

What's me?

We see a car, one bunch of car follow. I follow. Some kind of stick make noise. Car, few car. We hear something. We move it. We hear some kind of stick making noise with me. That time, Pitney forced my hand. Hot carry, we can't load it shell much. I carry my shell, only 5 shell. I'm not ready one shell more, but we can't make it. But Cabo, he passed, he passed me. That, that day, 75 flew. We shot five times, five cowboys. A very big thanks that that night. I know people hard time. A very big thanks for my Lord that time. When he come back, he cut cowboy. Time is dark. Jamo this with me. I carry her big sack. We took a little meat, no room anymore. We put a little meat in my bag. I want some more meat. I know way back in the camp, but I know far, someplace no trail. We just, which way go?

Dark.

I see, I see star. Which way you go? I told him, this way, this way. Make it home. I carry one cowboy, they carry 2. Wait about 9 o'clock back home. Lots of people can do nothing, stay home. But that 5 cowboy Not enough the people, but we figure just give how much each. But next day, somebody blew another three carboxyl. Well, not for feed them, just enough for about two night, three night. Last time, we think the hard time my life. How long's to my life? We turn that way. Got no more to say.

Goodbye.

This next story will be told by Andrew Canizzi. Yes.

Hello, gentlemen. I'm going to tell you a little story about my young days. When I was about, well, the time I married, one of my friends named one of the jobs, a man from Japan. And we started to build a boat, a steamboat. And while we work in there in quite a long time, and I got kind of tired of it, and I went out to sea, have a fresh air. But I found out this is— That's a good idea. Our boat is drifting. And I told my boss that we're drifting. And he looked on the shore. He said, oh, that's all right. That's all right. We'll get back. Get a load of wood in a skiff. So I went back to the woodpile and get a load of wood. And he told me to build a fire in the boat. So I built a fire in the boat. And a 25-pound steam will be good enough, he said, to get back there.

Yeah.

Well, I say the 25-pound steamboat ready. Yes, okay, get out in the pilot house. I say, how did I know about the pilot? I never done any pilot before. No, no, no, no, no, nothing to it, nothing doing. Just go up, turn the wheel. Well, that he forget all about it, the wheel, the stern wheel line. The wheel is just putted on, just putted on. It's not fastened at all. So I, well, it's just about the time the big boat from the lower rivers get arrived. Arrived at Dawson while hundreds of people gathered with the boat, and they saw we drifting in the middle of the rivers. And they— he, he, he take the bucket of water from the top of the boat and put it in the boiler. And from the shore, the fella says, where are you going? Oh, he said, that's all right. There's lots of gasoline. River is white.

Okay.

Get in pilot house. And I turn my wheel and he start to put on the clutch and then he start to move. The stern wheelers, wheelers just only turn slowly and start to go. And I turn my wheel and my wheels drop right off, fall right off. And he start to go towards the big boat. And boy, you sure heading the boat, bang! You already see the whole— there's hundreds of people laugh.

Wah, wah, wah, wah.

And then our boat is smoke and leak and put the fires out. And I paddle the shore with the rope and I pull him to the shore. This is a pretty long story, but I just only tell you half a story. That's my own story.

Thank you.

This next story will be told by William Nishu.

I think I'm going to tell about Whiskey Jack.

Yes.

This one time Whiskey Jack is traveling in the country and he was stuck to get food and he was starving. And when he get in close to a lake and Whiskey Jack see the moose swim across the lake and Whiskey Jack got no gun or arrow or anything else and He don't know how to kill the moose. So Whiskey Jack, he figured out how to kill the moose. Oh, I better paddle the moose and sat on the moose while moose swim. And he sat on it and he put that moose head in the water to be drowned. And while talking short, At last, moose drowned and he got the big meat there. And Whiskey Jack, he was very glad to get the moose. And he's sure going to eat lots, you know. And just before that, the big trees standing up right there and ended up there like this. And Whiskey Jack go up, climb up on the trees. And he sat on there, right there. And he called the trees, trees, just twist with me. As soon as he said that, the trees twist with him. He can't get out. And all kinds of armed animals come around. They found the moose dead there. And everybody started to eat.

And then Whiskeyjack, Tease, let me go.

But Tease is standing crisp, never move. And while he's sat up there, almost gone, everything finished, no more meat, nothing left for Whiskeyjack. And Whiskeyjack says, soon as finish all the meat, well, the Teeth come back and Whiskey Jack get loose. And he get down, he was staring, and he just, he go, he traveling again. Oh, pretty soon Whiskey Jack, he see, he hear all kind of funny noise, you know, and he went there. And all kinds of birds play around there. And they threw their eye, they take their eye out and throw up and coming down and they get their eye back. And Whiskey Jack says, grandson, what you doing there?

Oh, my grandfather, we had lots of fun.

We threw our eye.

We sure tickled to death.

Oh, me too, I'll do that.

Well, Whiskey Jack took his eye out and threw it out. Well, all the birds grabbed the eye and lost his eye. Thank you very much.

And here's, uh, Miss Annie— Mrs. Annie Bunny Plum to sing us a short song.

Hey, hey.

Hey, Quinta, que xingue, que é tchernunchi, que tô riquinho.

Hey, hey.

Hey, Quinta, que xingue, que é tchernunchi, que tô riquinho.

It's another story here will be told by Charles Coey.

Yeah, first of all, I got a couple of dogs. They're both white. They're so white you can hardly see them in dark. My father worked for some kind of a community camp at Fort McPherson, and I had rabbit skin coat, and they got a bunch of dogs ahead. My father and mother. So I was driving these 2 dogs coming behind. Pretty soon these dogs, they're leaving me behind and I was kind of scared, you know. I don't know what I'm scared of, but anyway, I'm scared. It's kind of dark, so I couldn't see these 2 white dogs. So pretty soon I started giving them a little trimming behind the back so they go a little faster. Pretty soon they kept on doing that. I thought that was a very nice thing to do. So I got these dogs too played out pretty bad, so I started whipping with all what I got. But these 2 dogs, they were too strong for me. So I got on top one dog and I bit his ear as hard as I could. No, he kept on laying down. By that time, I started crying. I looked for my father. They were way ahead. So I left those 2 dogs and a bunch of junks in the sled. I started running behind my father because I was so scared. I looked back the direction that I came through. There was nothing on the trail, but still I was so scared. And I ran onto one dog again. I went back, ran back to my 2 dogs, and I started driving again. They made about 10 steps and laid down again. And I laid on another dog and bit his ear again. So There was a couple boys at Fort McPherson. After a while, I come through there, they asked me if I had any tobacco. So I said, no, I have no tobacco. Well, we got tobacco. A fellow named George Robert. And there was one, there was all time ago, not very long ago, but anyway, it's hard to get things some days. And there was one cigarette paper, the name of it is named Wheat Straw. So he gave me one sheet of Wheat Straw.

Wheat Straw.

And he took out a little bit of a niggerhead, what they call niggerheads, very strong tobacco. So I never smoked niggerheads, so we run around the trail and we sneak one place and get into one around the houses and we look for our father or nobody so we don't get caught smoking. So we started smoking and pretty soon I smoke, I puff away as hard as I can, and pretty soon I got dizzy. And I told him to look, I bet you we eat cold snow, I bet we feel better. So we started to eat cold snow. Goodness sake, pretty soon I was just like a drunk man. Thank you very much. That's all the story I got.

And now, ladies and gentlemen, we, we got Charles Coy here and Herbert Firth on the guitar and Charles on the fiddle. So let's listen to their music, Drops of Brandy.

Charles.

Next one we'll have is, uh, rate or reject.

Next we'll have Over the Wave, Charles.

Over the Wave.

Wait, wait, you can tell him.

Okay, you—

this real or first witchy?

This story will be told by Abraham Francis about Shilty Rock.

Hello, gentlemen. I tell you old-fashioned story. It's a long time ago. One lady stay alone. For 30 years, 10, somebody, nobody stay with him. When the mountain coming, the people, that's why I stay alone, a mile away the people. And other people, they're hunting 4 months on the mountain.

Hunting.

Hunting.

And that hunting come back just time the rag lady go out and long about 2 feet down the— only down, that's all he look. He never look around, never look country. But that time he scared with husky. A husky wore. And down the people, this fish can. Well, that woman, she never look— somebody look after, never come and quit. Well, we thought that maybe people fighting down there. That's why they go out. And this chap take out and look around. Just down, down below, 2 or 4 people come back hunting. Just looked at that, that hunting people. This strong eye, right away, that hunting stone. This stone. 4 dog and 4 man. And go by one dog, I said, black, is coming alone.

Black.

There's a way up the hill. It's there, it's the stone too. That's an old-fashioned story. And that hunting people that below the fish tank, somebody go out, tossed the rock up there. We thought somebody coming, but it looked like a rock. That's an old woman, Megam, Megam's there, okay. It's just here yet. There's 12 men in the former prison now. And that woman come, Ronnie Pascal, fish come up the hill. Just here yet, that come yet. I said, okay. It's a good story, my friend. Goodbye.

We got Willa Muchukwa here to tell us a story about a beaver and a rat changing tails. It's going to be a funny story, I think.

Okay.

I want to try that story. I'm not very good, but I want to try. The people here, we got no say anything, but me, I want to try few words again. I don't tell right, but that's all right. The rat, he had a good country down Old Crow Flat. You know, lots of people got lots of lake, you know it. But rat, he go down the river. He go down the river. But beaver, rat, we make mistake. We just tread her tail.

No.

But after, rat, beaver, it go wrong way. We make mistake. Rat, he had a good time for he had lots of leg. He had a field hobby, but people not, is not. Very big story, but can't help it. That's all I say. Goodbye.

And here we have Ben Kanizzi to tell the story about himself.

Okay, ladies and gentlemen, I want to tell a story about you. When I was young, I'm about 16 or 17 years old, my father was old man and he's Katkis. And a Bishop Stringer, he sent out to the mail. And I was kind of, I don't like it to go, but my father have to go.

I was a little boy.

Come on.

And at last my father started away from Dawson, going over to Mayo City. And then we start off, dog pack. We had 8 dogs. And 4 Musa Indians go with us for halfway, because we don't know the trail. And then we went I'm sure don't like to go that way. But when I come behind with my father, I'm crying every day about my country and my people, because I don't know those people. So we went— we're going about 7 days now, and those 4 Musa Indians leave us and go down the Yukon River. But me and my fathers and all the women, that's all we started. We don't know the trail, but they were making a map for me. So I kept, I kept following that map. Another 2 days, we didn't see no Mayo yet. And finally we get starving. We had nothing to eat. And we don't know how far to the Mayo. So my father told me, we better turn back because we don't know where we're going. So old woman says, we can't go without horse. Maybe Mayo is closer because we've got nothing to eat to go back to Dawson. So the old man, he says, we better go. When we started This morning, and we, we having dinner. We got nothing to make dinner. But the old woman says, I have one, 2 hardtacks here.

One right down there.

But my father says, give to our boy. Our boy's hungry. Never mind us, he says. So he gave me that 2 hardtacks and I eat it. Then we start again. We climb up the hill. I follow them up. But when I get on top of the hill, I see the mayo. But it's still a long way yet, about 10, 15 miles. So I don't think I'll make it there because I'm hungry. I told my father, I'm hungry. I can't go. I could rifle. Still, I'm just kind of like little, little, little child about my father. And my father told me, can't do nothing for you. We got nothing to eat. Go ahead and keep on going. So I keep following him. Very soon we get, get into big river. And then we see the village across, the Indian village. There's nobody there, just one dog in there. But I set the tent. We was close to the river too. I set the tent. I went down for water, them 2 old, old men. Then I went to bed because I'm hungry. Very soon my father woke me up. He told me, shoot, shoot. Might anybody hear us, they're going to come to us, he says. I said, no, you shoot. I don't want to shoot. I want to sleep, I said, because I'm hungry. Kind of get a little cranky, you know. And I went back to bed, my father shooting. Not very long, the old woman wake me up, somebody coming.

No!

Well, I wake up. I heard somebody coming with a skiff. Then he landed across the village, and my father told him, come across, we're starving. And he says, you, you come across, he said. Them 2 men says— my father, he's getting mad, and he says—

You better come across!

He says, well, those 2 men come across. Then he brings some food, good meat, lots of grub. Just soon I see a bunch of hardtack. I just jump to there. I eat lots of hardtack. That's the end of my story.

Thank you.

Now we have Charles Coy here to tell us about his religion life.

Okay, my grandfather was a catechist from a long time ago. They were just about to first start the beginning of making service, or anybody know how to write and read. I don't think they know very much, but they know about God, and that's why they're really tied up to it pretty bad. So my Grandfather, he was a minister, so he makes service right alongside of me all the time. I don't know what he's making that service for, but anyway, it sounds pretty good to me. So my grandfather went out to get birch to make a snowshoe. So I watched this old man to go out, out a distance. So I took his bag right out where he keep his Bible and prayer book. All kinds of books. So I put it on the ground, not on the floor, on the ground, like he used to do right in front of me. Then I call out, I yell out and call a bunch of kids. So a bunch of kids come in. So I get—

You were wearing his glasses too?

First of all, I put on his glasses. So I was wearing glasses like a minister. Yeah, I figured I was a minister. I started in a way. So there's too many kids, so I don't know what to use. So I use little chips, little white chips, if I could find it for a book. So I give it to the odd kids here, you better sing with this and pray on this one. So I started, and boy, I was singing away like a minister. So pretty soon I stopped. Oh, I kept it up the way my father, my grandfather do. I do same thing as him, but I don't know what I was talking about. Well, I was talking It's tight. It's tight, loose you. So pretty soon we had a tent, there was a little hole right through the tent there. I heard some kind of noise, so I looked out and I see this old man. He's got a beaver cap, so I seen the top of his head. And I started to move right away. By the time the old man put up the tent, he had a long willow. So it was in the summer, nothing holding me down to go under the— any distance under the tent. So I started beating under the tent and I had no time to take my glasses off and I threw my Bible about 6 feet away from myself and I started running for life. No, I wasn't fast enough, so the old man got hold of my leg. He hung me up about 3 feet away from the ground, and he gave me 3 big hits right on the back. From there, he threw me about 4 feet away, and I cried like a jackrabbit there.

When did you quit?

So I just kept on crying, kept on crying. Pretty soon, he collect all these things, and, oh, he was pretty well mad, I guess. But he didn't say nothing. He pack up everything, then he look at me. I still got my glasses on. I was really crying. So he told me, first he told me, take that glass off. So I was crying and I just took his glass off and I threw it away, the way I think where he was sitting. Well, I'm very sorry I do that, but I hope God don't think about me that way. That's the end of my religion story. Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, I got a story here to say, to tell about the time I had a fairly close shave coming over from the chute. We should have Hank Mitchell right here to listen to this story. I guess he'll be making a patrol over that way. But anyway, there was a bunch of us went out hunting over that way, and coming back we got caught.

Oh, yeah.

And the wind coming over the mountain. Well, going over, you're in the valley all the way over. Just a little ways, you're on the flat. Then you go down the chute. Well, we were just the other side of the chute there in the morning camping. We heard the wind going, but still we pulled out. We all helped each other to come up the chute. Once everybody was ready, well, we started. There's one old man there, John Doe is his name. John Ritokwe, that's his real name, was along with us. Well, we all got started. We all stayed together, but once we got into the main wind well, I couldn't even see my handlebar there, and my face was covered with snow. And the rest of the boys were all the same, I guess, but happened I got the toughest luck there. My load was pretty heavy, still the wind blew it around and my wheel harness got all tangled, so I had to stop and fix that harness. In the meantime, the rest got away, but I caught up to them right away. And then again, that sled went the same way, so I had to stop. This time it took me a little longer, and then And then the rest of the boys got away from it. Well, I started. I started off pretty good. I found out I was on the side of the hill because the dogs was going— having hard time. So I dropped one weight and I happened to hit that valley. I could know I'm in that valley is to drag my feet once in a while, because there's soft snow there. If you're on the mountain, you drag your feet while you're on a hard crust. So I drag my feet once in a while and I know I'm in the valley, so I just watch myself. On the way, I touched something soft with my foot, so I reached down to feel it with my hand. It was something I knew, so I stopped. Something that— well, I stopped anyway. I looked here, it was old John Doe. His dogs was really cold in the wind there, and they couldn't even get up. So I asked him what was wrong. He says his dogs can't go with him. Well, we don't talk like this to each other. We have to scream at each other. You know, in the wind like that. So we started and I couldn't make no headways with his dogs and his load. And I couldn't leave him there, so I thought I might as well stick to him. Well, he's one of the old-timers and he's been in the wind lots of times and he knows his business, I thought. So I was wise, I stuck there with him. For a while I pretty nearly took off. We started. Anyway, we went a little ways and we couldn't make it. All this time we were going up on the side of the mountain, we didn't know it. We couldn't do no more, so I went back to him. I told him what we'll do. He says, we might as well go under the blanket. So we pulled out our blanket. We just had to hang on to our blanket. Anyway, I crawled into mine some way and He crawled into his. We stayed in the blanket for about half an hour, and he, he was right beside me. He told me something. I didn't understand him. I just couldn't get what he was saying. So he got out of the blanket, and also I just thought he might be out to check the dogs. I waited. He was gone for about 15 minutes. I know the old man wouldn't take that long, so I got— started to come out of my blanket. I was already underneath a hard crust, already buried. It's just lucky I was just curled up like this, you know, in the blanket.

Oh, see?

And I just kicked myself out, broke the hard snow off myself. I got out and I looked for John Doe.

He's gone.

I know he was lost. Well, for a while, that wind gets a person out of his mind easy. I see there. I pretty nearly went and got my gun and blew my head off. That's what I had in my mind there for a while. I thought if I don't find John Doe, I'll come back and do it. So I went with the wind straight down. I went about 5 minutes. The wind just went down a little, you You know, the wind, the snow went down a little, and I just seen him a little ways down. He was just like this, walking. He doesn't know where he's going. While I seen him, I just took off, ran right to him, right as quick as I could. In the meantime, the wind started too, and I lost him. Even that, I just went straight to where he was. I got him right away. I asked him where he was going. He says he doesn't know either. He lost himself. So I told him it might take us about 15 minutes from here up facing the wind to our dogs. So we hang on to each other and we went back up. We passed our dogs, we didn't know it. There's some black spots on the snow there, thought it was rocks. After we passed it, I thought it was It might be dog heads. So I went back and sure enough, it was our dog's head. So we got there. By that time, all my clothes was frozen on me, just stiff. That wind there, when it blows, it's just like rain, you know, with snow. As soon as it gets on you, well, it gets wet. I was getting cold too, and all, even inside my pocket, all my pockets just full of ice, snow. So he says, we're going to put up a little snow house. So I start cutting blocks out. As soon as he puts it there, the wind just blows it away, just smash it up. So he told me to get— pull out my snowshoes. So I pull out my snowshoe and his snowshoe.

We put 4 snowshoes around together and we threw tarps over it.

Just as quick as we put the tarp over it, the snow piled on it. Then we crawled in. That morning when we were leaving the camp over there, I happened to be the last one. I seen this short piece of candle left there, so I picked it up and put it in my pocket. So after we went into the— our little comfortable house there, He asked me, he said he wished he had a candle. Well, I thought about this candle, so I gave it to him. As soon as I heated it up, well, I fell asleep. Somebody was pushing me.

I got up.

Here he was. He made a cup of tea with that one candle. So we drank tea. I watched through the little hole once in a while. It was dark by that time. It was good moonlight. The wind went down. We were way on the side of the mountain.

I didn't know it.

And our main trail was way down. If we went about another 150 yards from there, we went— we would have went right over a cliff. But it's just lucky we stopped just the right place. So we started. I got out and took my dogs out of the snow, chopped my sled out of the snow, and reloaded up everything and started. Well, we started good. We had to leave his sled behind, all his load. His dogs was behind us. We hit Stony River and we— I made fire and we had a good meal, and from there we started We got to our friends. They already had tents set. They had a tough time themselves coming over, but they made it all right. Well, I guess Mrs. Fagen is still someplace in the other room away. Don't know what to do with this tape recorder.

That's a story I have about Leshoot.

So if anybody that's going over that way, they see wind over Leshoot, there's no use to take a chance. You might as well camp and wait for the wind to die down and then go over. So that's a story I have.

Thanks.

Yeah, here I am again, Charles Kooie. I'm going to tell a story from Mrs. Abraham Olekski. That's not my story. I don't understand it very good, but I have to translate this to English. I'm not very good at English, but anyway, I'll just start it the way he tell me. I don't think I'll be very good at it, but we'll have a good try at it anyway. First of all, from Fort McPherson up to Trail Creek is 75 miles. One of the old-timers, an old Indian, about 200 years ago, I guess, He was believing in medicine man. He's in very strong power by the medicine man. I don't know what is medicine man myself, but the ways he told us, tell me, but it's kind of very powerful. He wasn't scared of nothing. And the people catch a bunch of fish all summer, I guess, and they—

Summer.

Really fixed it good for them to eat it. Wasn't very much dogs around, but they usually use all that food for a human person to eat it. But there was no— they never heard nothing about white man or never heard nothing about civilization. But anyway, they, they went up to this cache, good enough to feed Good many people, I understand. And she said there was a bear. And them days, bear usually go in the water, go back into the snow, into the water again, back out again. Freezes all the ice around his hair and pretty well packed tight. And I guess he just leave enough place to Breathe and eat, but all his head was just full of thick ice. He goes in there through the sand and mud, everything, so this thing is solid like cement.

I understand.

So this all medicine man. There was a bunch of people alongside that cache. They all had nothing to eat. They depend on this cache here, and they haven't got anything else to eat but This bear was just right there. He know nobody can do nothing to him. Caches all belong to him. It's nothing for him to be scared. Once in a while they go over and tackle him, but he growl and raise all the heck if he can raise it. So this medicine man come pretty soon.

He went over.

He went over. He told this bunch of— where's that dog? Was around here. Well, this bunch of poor people are just half starving. Says, he's over there. He's right in that cache. Well, he says, tonight I'm going to visit that old dog of your people. So he went over and he got a club made out of a moose, a further lake. That's pretty tough, you know. It's a big bone right at the end of it. He got clubbed like that. He went over and Mr. Bear came out to see this new stranger fella come in. He started growling like a— just like before to these other guys. No, this fella, he wasn't scared of him, so he jumped right on top of him. Every time he jumped right on top of him, he made a good He hit him every time, but that don't do him any good. Pretty soon he knock out a piece of ice out of his head, jump back, forward, hit him every time. Pretty soon he got enough to hit his brain, so he hit his brain. And then he kill him. So it didn't took him very long. He went back to this people, that bunch of starving people there, and he said, I'm hungry. Where's that bear? Oh, he said, I killed him. But when before he come back to these people, he met this bear sitting on the trail like he is just like he's alive. So a bunch of people went over there to get the food. They were all hungry. They can't keep quiet. They run for their grub. So they all run back. He said, you never kill that bear. Oh, he said, I'm just playing with you people. While that, he got a relation from Trail Creek over to Porcupine someplace, and a bunch of people there, they were fighting and fighting like a dog. There's no friend. They don't know how to be good, I guess. So he's got a bunch of brothers over there, one the same tribe of people that were going to kill his brother because he's kind of smart like this medicine man's brother. So he was sleeping and He found out that his brother was going to be killed by some other bunch of people. So he had a little kind of vein, right? He took it from someplace around the Moose Lake. So he put that in a fire and it just wrinkled up like elastic. So that's the way you wrinkle up the country. It don't take him long to go 1,000 miles. I think it'll take him about 2 or 3 hours to go 1,000 miles with his leg. So tomorrow morning he put on his equipment and he went over the mountain from Peter over to Porcupine. And these people, if they're going to kill one people in them days, they're going to make some kind of a party. They were having a big party that day, a little bit of beans brew and A little bit of everything, have a good time to kill this smart guy. So he was coming right along the trail, you know. He used to rake up all the country, so it didn't take him long to get over there. That same afternoon he was there. And there was a first tent to that camp. There was an old woman. Somebody was crying in this old woman— in this old tent here, so he One of them, he listened to this old woman crying. He said, I wish my boys, they were all alive. He said that and he was crying away. And this man here, he was coming, and he took his hand up and he told him, Mother, what you're talking about?

Right.

He said, my dear boy, your brother is going to be killed by this bunch, and that's why they're having a big party way out there. I just hear the noise. I don't know what they're going to do. So he went over there, and they got a little piece of moose skin tied up in 4 corners, in a very twisted moose skin, hard rope. They put it on a 4-standing tree, and they pull it down and up, And down and up, and somebody get on top of this 4-foot square and jump up and down they go. So when he went over there, he figured, I'll show you people if you're going to kill my brother. So he took one corner of this hard twisted moose skin, he tore everything down, tore all the tree and everything down. Gee, that's a wonderful thing happened. That's a great power. So these bunch of people, they were going to kill his brother. They don't know what to do. They were just walking around, standing around. So he says, what's the matter with you people? Why don't you keep playing? I'm going to play too. So he says, you better, you two young fellows better wrestle. So he took two couple of guys, young fellows, they wrestle, knock one another down. That's a real old-fashioned game. It's just like playing pool or— curling or whatever you think it's good for white people. It's the same thing for an old-timer in them days. So he figured the prettiest boy that's going to go over there, he's going to go over there. This medicine man, this guy that come from a long trip. So he, he watched, he watched everybody just going wrestling, wrestling, take turn. The best man stands out there, the good man go out there, then he still stands So he figured, well, this is the guy, I'm gonna give it to him. So he went out there and he cut a hole. This new guy come in there, he was walking around, walking around, wherever there's a big hump around the ground. He figured, this is the place I'm gonna knock this fella right down on his back. So he grabbed hold of this young fella. He was a big guy. And the other one, well, of course he's dead. He banged him so hard. And one old lady over there says, what's the matter with that fella there? He acts so smart. So this fella told him, what you said to me? And he got a little knife, just about maybe 14 inches long, that little knife, and took this knife out of his back pocket.

Oh, my God.

He grabbed his— around the forehead, put his head on the back, and he shoved his knife right into his throat. That's how mean that man is. Then he went around and did the baddest thing he could do, take all the people around there, whatever good thing he got, he picked them up. After he picked everything up, he was ready to go back. And then he went outside. He talked pretty loud and he tell them, well, I'm going back now, gentlemen. Anybody think he's thinking something about me, he better come along and tell me. If not, well, I'm going back now. Well, that's the end of this old-fashioned story, ladies and gentlemen.

The next selection Charles Coy is going to play is Red Wind.

We've got a little more yet for Home Sweet Home.

Oh, sorry.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the end of our tape, so I guess we'll have to close down. We got Charles Quay here playing all the music for us tonight, and we're really enjoying our party here. So we'll see you in a few minutes' time again, eh, boys?

Yeah.