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A wild woman named
Quamichan, who made a basket out of a snake, was a giantess, and her
whole appearance was disgusting. She lived on human flesh, and sneaked
about villages, stealing the children, which she put into her snake
basket. She lived on Salt Spring Island, near Kuper. She had wings and
used to fly about Saanich and elsewhere, stealing young people. Her
sister was a very small woman, and hated Quamichan bitterly. Quamichan
decided to have a big feast and invite her friends; so for a few days
she was kept busy stealing children, whom she hid in a cave. When she
had enough, she dug a huge pit, about 100 feet square and very deep. She
put big sticks across the top, and between she placed small dry wood as
kindlings, and then big stones on the top of all. Then she set fire to
the wood. She called the children out, and made them sit down and watch
the fire. There were hundreds of poor children, crying and begging to be
let go home. She made fire by rubbing two sticks together in this
fashion: A flat stick with a small hole in the middle, and a small round
stick with a sharp point to fit in the flat piece of wood; then the
round stick was rubbed violently between the two palms, and as soon as
smoke and sparks were seen coming out, fine dry cedar bark was held to
the sparks, and as they fell on the bark it was gently blown, and the
fire fanned into flame.
Now, after the fire had started, Quamichan danced round the pit, singing
and shouting. “Now I am going to have a big feast with my friends, and
eat these young animals,” as she called the children. “I hope the stones
will get red-hot quickly, so that they will be well cooked.”
She told her sister to take pitch pine and make the children open their
eyes, and smear their eye-balls with the pitch, so that they could not
see what was going to happen. Now, the sister’s heart was tender. She
took the pitch and went to each child and bid it close its eyes and put
the pitch on the lids, and said to each: “When I call out 'Open your
eyes!’ you must get sticks and be ready, for I am going to punish
Quamichan. Now, be ready.”
When she had finished, Quamichan told her to take out the sticks and
throw them to one side, as the stones were red-hot.
“Yes, sister,” she said; “but first dance again and sing, for you sing
so well; and shut your eyes tight and look up as you dance.”
Quamichan was greatly pleased with this flattery, and danced away like
mad. The little sister now got a long pole, and, when Quamichan came
close by her, she thrust the pole between her legs and tripped her, and
Quamichan fell into the hot pit on her back. She screamed to her sister
to help her out.
“Oh, yes, I am helping you. out, but you are awfully heavy; call on the
boys and girls to help.”
“With that the sister shouted: “Children, open your eyes,” and they took
sticks and threw them into the pit, where they caught fire. Quamichan
was burning like oil, and the sparks from her turned into ducks, geese
and all sorts of birds. This was the end of Quamichan. The little sister
sent the poor children back to their homes rejoicing. The Cowichan
Indians called themselves Quamichans, after this big woman, and they
learnt to make fire from her. |
