Page 21 - The Micmac Legend of Taken from Guts

ISSUE : Issue 11

Published by Ronald Caplan on 1975/6/1

tiver and stopped at the place where Porcupine had his den. It was all full of rocks. Porcupine's wife was at horae; and when they went in, she built up a fire so hot that Taken-frora-Guts' brother soon died. Nevertheless Taken-frora-Guts said, "I'ra very cold," and he wrapped a bear-skin about hira. Soon Porcupine-Woraan could not stand it any longer. Then Taken-frora-Guts revived his brother, and they started on in the ca? noe until they came to where the giants had built a trap. It was a place where steep rocks crushed everybody who tried to go by. Taken-frora-Guts saw the trap ahead, and said to his brother, "Look outl there is a trap ahead. Strike with your paddle;" So Taken-frora-Guts broke it away with his paddle, and they passed through. Soon they came to a pond where there were lots of wild geese, that looked up as they came in sight, and were about to screech. These geese belonged to Gluskap, who lived across the pond. They were his watch-birds, and informed Gluskap when anyone ap? proached, by screeching. Then Taken-from-Guts held up his hand and told the geese to keep quiet. The geese kept quiet. Then they landed and went into Gluskap's camp and quickly put up their wigwam. When Gluskap carae out, he saw it, and wondered at such a powerful man. But toward evening he went and visited Taken-frora-Guts, and talked with the boys. Taken-from-Guts gave Gluskap a pipe to sraoke. Gluskap drew on it once and smoked it dry. Then he gave Taken-from-Guts a pipe, and said, "Fill this." And Taken-from-Guts smoked it dry. Twice he did this. When Gluskap went out, Taken-from- Guts said to his brother, "It's going to be a cold night tonight, I can see it by the clouds." That night was indeed so cold that when he put his pot to boil, one side of it boiled while the other side froze. The next morning it was fine and warm, and Taken-from-Guts went to wake his brother, who said, "I'm frozen to death." At evening Taken-from-Guts said, "It's going to be windy to-day by the looks of the clouds," and he told Gluskap, who thought, "I had better fix up my camp, for this is a very powerful raan." So he put weights all aroimd his wigwara. That night it blew a gale so hard that he could just about keep his camp up. It nearly blew down. The next day was fine, so the brothers left Gluskap and started on. When they left, Glus? kap gave Taken-from-Guts a piece of fur for a present, one skin. Taken-from-Guts handed it to his brother to carry. As they went along it grew bigger and heavier, until at last he could not carry it any farther. So Taken-from-Guts carried it; but soon he stopped, and said to his brother, "You stay here and start a fur business with this skin. I can't carry it any longer." His brother then remained. Taken-frora-Guts, however, kept on, and at last carae to two caraps where old woman Skunk lived. She had some daughters, liflien he entered, she said, "Corae in the back of the wigwam, my son-in-lawl" The next day she said, • 'We'll go to the island and get some eggs." So they did go; and when they reached the island, the old woraan told hira that there were raore eggs farther in frora the shore. "I want you to get thera," she said. So he went farther in, and she paddled off in the canoe and left hira there. When he came back to the shore, she was gone and he was alone. The Gulls carae by where he stood, and he asked thera to carry hira to the raainland. The gulls did so, and he reached the carap ahead of the old woraan. At this she was very ranch astonished. When night carae, she told hira, "I shall have to sleep with you tonight. That's the rule." • "All right," said he. That night she covered him with fur and skins and lay down with hira, intending to stifle hira with her odor when he was asleep; but Taken- from-Guts raade a hole through the coverings with his knife. Through this hole he could breathe. She tried very hard to kill hira with her sraell; but he breathed through the hole, and the next morning got up all right. The next day she had an? other test for him. She had a deep hole where she threw her other sons-in-law to kill them, and into this she threw Taken-frora-Guts. When he reached the bottora he found an old Turtle sitting there waiting for his prey. Turtle looked about for his knife to kill Taken-frora-Guts; but while he was looking, Taken-frora-Guts clirabed out safely. They could not kill him. PHARMACY ONE STOP SHOPPINS for Health & Beauty Operated by Mansons Over 70 Years of Service 564-8151 Angel Manufacturing & Supply Co, Ltd For the Best in Heating and Supplies P.O. BOX 90 NORTH SYDNEY MOVA SCOTU Uxng Lichen,

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