Origin Story Disclaimer: The Salt Spring Archives do not own these stories, we have been given permission by their rightful keepers to share them. They have been passed down from generation to generation and now we carefully share them with you. We do ask that you be respectful with how you read and share them. We hope that you will learn from them. Some stories may contain information that others may deem fabricated or false. They are true to the version that was shared.

There was once a boy who had three uncles. The name of the eldest was Tltakeltuq, that of the second Tltoqelmnuq, and that of the youngest Tskwimet. Whenever his uncles gave a feast this boy disgraced them by licking off the platters and dishes like a dog. This habit made the people laugh at him, and brought shame to his uncles. Said the eldest to the others, "What can we do with such a nephew? I will kill or drown him." "No," said the youngest, "you must not kill him. You had better punish him in some way ." The eldest uncle then took a handful of cedar tips, and rubbed the boy’s face till the blood came. "Now," said the youngest uncle, "if you take some of the prickly dust of the white pine and fill his eyes with it you will punish him well." one of them objected, saying, "Why do that? You might as well kill him outright as blind him ." Replied the youngest uncle, "I don't agree with you; one can never tell what might happen; perhaps something good may come of it." "All right," now say the others, "do as you say ." Upon this they fill the boy’s eyes with the prickly bark dust, and take him into the mountains, and leave him there. The boy, thus left to himself, wandered about for four days.

At the end of that time, the eldest of the uncles went out one evening and was startled to see flashes of lightning coming from the direction of the mountain where the boy had been taken. Said he to the others, "I have seen a strange sight. I saw many flashes of lightning coming from the direction of our nephew. Lightning at this time of year is very unusual; I wonder what it means?" All the uncles now go outside and sit and talk and watch the lightning. Presently the youngest said, " I had better go and see what this strange thing means." He went to that part of the mountain where the boy had been left. As he approached, his nephew called out to him: "I see you coming, uncle. Don't come any nearer to me or you may be harmed . Swowas, the Thunder-being, took away my blind eyes and gave me new ones instead, and these flash the lightning you have seen. I want you now to make me a house without any roof. Make the walls of new mats (salats) which have never been used before." The man returns to his brothers, and tells them what he has discovered.

The uncles now feel proud of their nephew and his mystery powers, and forthwith build him the house he asks for. The boy’s face shines and gleams like fire, and whenever he opens his eyes they emit flashes of lightning. When the uncles have finished the house, the youngest of them went to the mountain again and told the boy that it was ready for him . "Very well," said the youth, " but don't take me till the evening. " That evening the ·uncle conducts him home again, the nephew keeping his eyes closed the whole time . As soon as he is within his house, he opens his eyes and the lightning flashes through the roofless dwelling into the upper air. The nephew now instructs his uncles to go and tell the people what has happened, and bid them come and learn what his name for the future would be. The uncles did as they were bidden, and called together all the people of the Nanaimo Pentlatch, and neighboring tribes. When the people had come togethe; and stood round about the new house feeling much afraid of what might happen, they saw the lightning flashes in the air and heard a voice as it were from the clouds, singing "Sqaleken!" This was the new name of the youth.

Sqaleken now asked his youngest uncle, "Which is the highest mountain you can see?" The uncle replies, "Celsip." "Take me there" said the youth. They go to the Celsip mountain, but it is not high enough. The mountain on Salt Spring Island seems to them to be the highest and they go there. "This will do," said the nephew. The uncle now builds another house on the summit of this mountain and digs a well for water. The youth looks all round him and sees a small bay in the distance, the sand of which was formed of broken clam-shells. Said he to his uncle, "Do you see that beach yonder?" "Yes," said the uncle. "Go there then, and fetch a canoe load of that shell-sand." The uncle did as he was bidden, and when he returned with it, his nephew instructed him to put it into the bottom of the well to line it. The uncle did so, and the sand may be seen there to this day on the top of the mountain. Now the youth possessed a big hat, and when he desired a wife he would not go for her himself but sent his hat with his uncle, who said, "Sqaleken’s hat wishes for a wife." In this manner he acquired many wives, whose fathers kept him and them supplied with food, carrying it to the house on the mountain.

Now it happened that another man with mystery power, Switen by name, lived at that time on the Chimainus [Chemainus] River, and one day Sqaleken sent his hat to him. Said Switen to his messenger, "Who is this upstart who sends and demands gifts of me? I am Switenen-Skwail, the heaven-born; for whom does he take me? If he wants anything from me, why does he not come himself like a man, and not send me his hat? Go back and tell him that I don't want his hat. I want to see himself." The messenger returns and reports. "Oh," says Sqaleken, "he wants to see me, does he? Very well, I will go, but I think he will be sorry." All the people round about that part of the country now come together to see the meeting of Sqaleken and Switen. They filled the house of the latter. Sqaleken arrives, his eyes flashing like lightning all the way, but Switen lies on his back on his couch and says nothing. The visitors speak to him, and say, "What are you going to do? Sqaleken wants your daughter to wife ." But Switen pays no heed to them, but continues to lie on his back. After the people had pestered him a good whil~ he arose and said, "If Sqaleken wishes to be on friendly terms with me, let him keep his eyes closed. I have power as well as he, and can do him hurt if I wish to." Sqaleken thereupon closes his eyes and makes no display of his powers. Switen then gives him his daughter, and Sqaleken returns to his mountainhome with her, and waits for Switen to bring him food, as the fathers of his other wives had done . He waits day after day until a considerable period had gone by, but no Switen appears. He gets ·tired of waiting and bids his wives dig some lukumas roots. Said he to his new wife, " l will go and see my father-in-law; something must be the matter with him, l think. You prepare three canoe-loads of gifts." They set out to go to Switen’s, and on the way meet him on his way to the mountain-home of Sqaleken. "Hello," says Sqaleken, "I was coming to see you, father-in-law." Switen replies, "I think you had better turn back again." "Oh no, I won't do that," said Sqaleken, "you go back." Each then tries to persuade the other to turn back, but neither would yield, and in the end, to get over the difficulty, each agrees to return to his respective house.

Now the "power" of Switen was the west wind. They had not long separated when a great storm arose, and rain-drops fell as big as a man’s fist. Said Switen to his people, " I'll teach that man a lesson; paddle me to the land." When he is landed Switen jumps into the water and splashes and tumbles and dives, singing all the while his magic wind song. The wind rises higher and higher, and the trees are broken and dashed to the ground, and their scattered branches fill the air. Presently the storm reaches Sqaleken and overwhelms his canoes, and he and his company are obliged to swim ashore. When they get home the youngest of the uncles says to the others, "Brothers, I am astonished at the manner in which Switen has treated our nephew; he is certainly the more powerful man of the two ; our nephew will now be ashamed in the eye of the people. They will be exceedingly angry, and will probably seek to kill him, and so disgrace us and our children. I think we had better put him out of the way ourselves and so avoid a public disgrace."

They listen attentively to his remarks, and the eldest replies, "But · how will you kill him? You can't club him to death ; his glance would burn you up." "Oh, leave that to me," answered the youngest. "1 know what to do." He thereupon began to kill a number of hair-seals . The brothers then give a great feast, and call all the people together. The flesh of the seals is roasted and distributed among the guests, among whom was Sqaleken himself. The uncle who had undertaken to kill him now instructed the others in this wise: " I will presently go behind Sqaleken and throw a seal-skin over his face, and then while his eyes are covered you must rush forward and club him to death. Get a stick of hard wood, and use it for a poker." In the meantime Sqaleken lay upon his bed with averted face. When they were ready for the deed, Tskwimet said to his eldest brother, "Brother, stir the fire With the poker; it is going out, I think." The eldest brother took the poker. stick and made as if to stir the fire, and at the same time Tskwimet threw a sealskin over the head of Sqaleken, and before the latter could throw it off and use his eyes, the other brothers had brought the poker down upon his head and brained him.

When the people perceived that Sqaleken was killed, they shouted for joy, so greatly had they dreaded his terrible powers, which even in his death had not wholly left him. In burying him they had to use the greatest care that no part of his body was left uncovered ; the exposure of even a finger or toe resulted in grievous thunder and lightning. After his corpse had been disposed of, the fathers of the various brides came and took them away.