Myths and Legends of British North America/20

by Katharine Berry Judson

WHEN MINK CARRIED THE TORCHES

Bella Coola

MINK'S father was "Walking-through-the-Heavens." He was Sun, but no one knew it, and one day when Mink was playing with the children of his village, they laughed at him saying that he had no father. Mink began to cry and went home to his mother.

Mink's mother said, "Why, your father is Walking-through-the-Heavens." Then Mink demanded bows and arrows, and his mother gave them to him.

Mink went outside the lodge and began to shoot his arrows into the sky. The first arrow struck the sky and stuck there. The second arrow hit the notch of the first, and held there; and the third arrow stuck in the notch of the second. So with four arrows Mink made an arrow chain which became a rope. He called to his mother and said, "Hold the rope so it will not shake," and she did so.

Then Mink began to climb up into the Sky Land, while his mother held the rope. After a long time he reached the door to the upper world. Then he climbed in and looked around him. He began to walk toward a bright house in the distance. It was Sun's house. As he came near it, a woman came out to pick up wood. When she saw Mink, she said, "Oh, little one! Where do you come from, sonny?" The woman went at once back into the house and told Sun.

Now Walking-through-the Heavens was tired that day. He did not climb the trail through the sky, but left it covered with clouds. Therefore it was gray and cloudy in the Earth Land. When there are clouds in the sky, that is the time that Walking-through-the-Heavens rests.

Mink told his father that the boys in the village teased him. He begged to be allowed to carry Sun's torches. Then Sun said, "Oh, you can't do it. I carry many torches. Early in the morning and late in the afternoon I burn small torches; but at noon I burn the larger ones."

Mink teased and teased. He said he wanted to carry the torches just once. Therefore one day Sun said, "I think I'll rest today. You may carry the torches."

So Walking-through-the-Heavens gave him the torches. He said, "Oh, child, take care! Walk in the morning, but don't walk too fast. Do not sweep your aunts, the clouds, away too quickly, or it will go hard with the people in the Earth World." Then he said again, as Mink started off, "Don't be too fast when you walk or sweep."

So Mink started off, carrying the torches. At first he lighted only small ones, and he walked slowly, and swept away the clouds not too rapidly. He did it very well indeed. But at noon Mink became tired. He swept away the clouds very rapidly, and he walked very fast. Then he also lighted many of the large torches at once.

At once it grew very hot. Great cracks came into the mountains and they began to split. All the rocks in the world were burned so that they are bare, even today. The trees began to burn and many animals jumped into the water. But the water began to boil. Mink's mother covered all the people with her blanket, so they were saved. All the people in the world hid under her blanket. The animals tried to hide under the rocks and in caves. Ermine crept into a hole which was not quite large enough, so the end of his tail stuck out. It was burned black. That is why Ermine is white with a black tip to his tail. Mountain Goat hid in a cave, so he is perfectly white. All the animals which did not hide were scorched and therefore they have dark fur on the upper side of their bodies, but the under side is lighter.

Now when Sun saw what was happening to the people of the Earth World, he rushed up the trail, and said, "Why do you do so? Do you think it is good that there should be no people on the Earth World?"

Sun took the half-burned torches and put them out. Then he pushed Mink right out of the Sky Land, saying, "Go right down to the Earth World again. You shall be mink and men shall hunt you."

Now four women had gone out digging clams. Then they saw something floating around among the drifting seaweed. They went towards it. It was Mink. When they touched him, he rubbed his eyes and said, "I have been sleeping on the water for a long time." Then he went up the beach and went home to his mother.

Now the world was hot, and the trees were burning, so that Sun caused the waters to rise until they covered the whole country except for a few mountains on Bella Coola River which rose above the waters. The Bella Bella and the Bella Coola tribes fastened their canoes to the tops of these mountains, and for this reason they were not lost. Other tribes tied their canoes to other mountains, but some of the canoe ropes broke and the people drifted away to different countries. The flood went as far north as the Skeena River, and people drifted even from up there. One canoe drifted over in the lands of the white people. Then at last Sun made the waters to sink.

Courtesy of Canadian Pacific Ry.

Cathedral Peak

Field, British Columbia

Crow was sitting on the top of a tree when Mink made the Earth World to burn. The smoke was so black that it made Crow black all over. Before that Crow had been white; so the Indians say.