Myths and Legends of British North America/The Star Hunters (Chilcotin)

by Katharine Berry Judson

THE STAR HUNTERS

Chilcotin

THERE were once three young men who spent most of their time with their two dogs in hunting. They lived with their grandmother. When they came in from hunting, they gave meat to her.

One day the hunters were gone all day without finding anything. In the evening, for a joke, one of them gave grandmother a piece of punk, saying, "Here is some caribou liver for you," but when she put it into her mouth, lo, it was punk wood! She was angry.

Now the next day, when the young men were out hunting, grandmother heated a bear's foot in the fire, and danced about the camp and sang her song. So she turned them by this magic into stars, and they lived up in Sky Land.

One day the young men were hunting in Sky Land, and they found the tracks of a great moose. They followed him for several days. Then as they were tracking the moose, they looked down and saw the Earth Land far below them. The eldest brother said, "I am going to try to get down to the earth again."

Now this brother told the other two to cover themselves with their blankets, and not to look down. Then he started down to the earth, but he was only halfway down when the youngest brother looked through a hole in his blanket. At once the eldest brother stopped. He could go no further. So the three brothers have all lived in the Sky Land among the stars. They live there with the great moose and their dog. The Indians can see them even to this day. The morning star is the old grandmother, with a torch, looking for the young men.