them in his house. Then a severe winter ensued. It was raining and snowing continually, and the people were unable to procure food. Nobody knew what was the cause of the bad weather.
One day the wife of the man who had found the flint knife discovered it under his bed. She said, "I wish they had put this knife into the mouth of the man who found it, then we should enjoy good weather again." Her husband replied, "I wish they would put it into your mouth! Where did you find it? It belongs to me." She excused herself, saying that she did not know that he had found it. After a short time, however, she took her children, left her husband, and went back to her brothers, who were very bad men, and who had killed many people. When she arrived there she said, "I found a stone knife in our house, and I said to my husband, 'I wish it were in the mouth of the man who found it.' Then my husband grew angry." The brothers made themselves ready to go to their brother-in-law's house. While travelling up the river they were almost frozen to death. The river was full of ice; it was snowing, and a cold east wind was blowing. When the man saw his brothers-in-law coming, he made a large fire of fir-bark, of which he had a plentiful supply in his house. The brothers did not go near the fire, but remained at the other side of the house, and warmed themselves at another fire which they had made for themselves. When they were warm, the man asked them, "What wind was blowing when you came here? Was it east wind or west wind?" Then one of the brothers jumped up and asked him, "What kind of wind do you make, you who made all the bad weather?" Then all the other brothers jumped up also. Two of them took hold of his legs and two of his arms; they tore his clothes from him and held him near the fire, so that his back split open like that of a salmon. When they had done so, one of the brothers looked out toward the sea and saw the sun coming forth. They held him close to the fire until he was dead, and then searched for the flint knife and the hammer. They found them under his pillow. Then they threw both of them into the fire, where they burned them. They took their sister's property out of the house and set fire to it; then it became fine weather, and it remained so all the winter.
Their sister stayed with them, and they provided for her. Her son began to grow up. One day, when he walked in the sun near the house, she told him that his father had perished at the hands of his uncles. When the boy heard this he thought of avenging his father's death.
piece was considered a rich man. It is believed that the finding of a piece of flint produces bad weather, therefore if a man found a piece in winter he left it in the woods, and did not take it home until warm weather had set in.
