Cryer, B. (2007). “Origin the Thunder Bird”. In C. Arnett (Ed.) Two Houses Half Buried in Sand (pp. 315–318)

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Latits‘iiya and her daughter visit Beryl Cryer to pass on a story told to them by Mary Rice. The story, well known to W‘sanec and Hul‘q‘umi‘num‘ people, concerns the myth of Sxeeluqun, a young man who receives awesome powers, but abuses them and suffers the consequences. I am uncertain of the article‘s original publication date, but its style and the setting suggest it was originally recorded and written in the fall of 1932, when Beryl Cryer often visited Latits‘iiya and her family.

Latits‘iiya and her daughter came to see me last week, the daughter very start in a bright blue dress and tiny hat perched on one side of her head, with black curls arranged about it. Latits‘iiya, however, will never change her mode of dressing. She still wears a voluminous gathered skirt, with a shawl about her shoulders, and her hair in two plaits tied together at the ends with a scrap of rag.

“I been staying with that old woman Siamtunaat,” she announced, as she sat :erself on my doorstep. "Ah! she‘s getting old. So old and so fat; But she talked out you, and she told me a story she said she forgot to tell you, so I finished my washing today and came to give you the story, just like she gave it to me." She took off her shawl, handed it to her girl to hold, and commenced the story.

“Longer ago than our grandmothers can remember, there lived at Leeyqsun on Valdez Island, a man and his woman and their one little boy, who they called Sxeeluqun.

“Even when this child was a small baby, the mother could not look at his eyes, .or they shone like fire, and, as he got older he had to keep his eyes shut, for a strong light came from them like the lightning that comes from the skies in the hot Summer nights.

“For many years this boy was very lonely, for none of the people would talk with him, and no children would play with him, for all were afraid of his bad eyes.

“One day Sxeeluqun went far back in the woods until he came to a lake. Feeling very tired he lay down beside the water and went to sleep. While he slept he dreamed that a great bird flew down beside him. ‘Listen, Sxeeluqun,‘ said the bird, search along the edges of this lake until you have found some tall grasses and some smooth rushes and make yourself a hat, like this‘—and the bird told him how to weave and bind the grasses about the rushes until a large hat was made. ‘My name,‘ said the bird, ‘is Schy-As-Thun, or thunder, and the hat you will make is a Thunder hat.You must keep it on your head, or the thunder will come and shake the world.‘

“When Sxeeluqun woke, he set to work looking for the grasses and rushes for his hat, and very soon had enough to work With, Now he wove the grass about the rushes as Schy-As-Thun had told him. and made a fine hat, which he quickly put upon his head. Not thinking, he took It off again, and at once great thunder shook the land, and when he opened his eyes to see what was making the noise, lightning shot from his eyes, up, up, into the skies, so that back at his father‘s camp people called to each other that surely this was the worst storm they had ever known.

“Suddenly, Sxeeluqun remembered what the Thunder Bird had told him, and quickly he put on his hat. and at once the loud noise in the skies stopped. When Sxeeluqun got back to his home he called to his father. ‘Ho, my father! I can no longer live In your house, my eyes are so hot they will burn all that I look upon! Will you make me a house where I may live without doing harm to our people? Make it on the highest place that you can find, so that when I open my eyes I will see only the blue sky above me!‘

“So his father and others of the tribe found a high place on Saltspring and there they cleared away the logs and trees, and called to the women to go to the swamps and cut all the Sli-Quis (Bulrushes) they could find.

“For many days and nights all the women worked, cutting the rushes, carrying them into camp and spreading them out in the sun to dry; then, when all (visits ready, they got their long mat needles, which were rubbed smooth as threading them with the thin roots from the cedar, they made the rushes) tubs great, long mats.

“At last the house was ready, the rush mats went all around the sides, but there was no roof”

“See now,‘ said the father, ‘we have built your house in this way so that you may open your eyes, and the burning light, will not hurt anything, but will go up and into the sky!‘

“For some time Sxeeluqun lived alone in his house, high up on the mountain, but after a time he got lonely and wished that he might have a wife like the other young men of his tribe. So he sent word to the people living. So he sent word to the people living in that part of the land that he would bring great storms upon them, such storms as they had never seen. “The Thunder will shake your house to the ground and the lightning will burn them until only the black ashes are left you!” he said. “but bring your daughters, to be my wives, and I will let you live in peace.”

When the people heard his, they met together to talk it over. All one night, the wise men of the tribe talked, but in the morning they had through of nothing that could be done.“

“‘We cannot get near Sxeeluqun to kill him,‘ they said, for if he looked at us just once, the brightness from his eyes would blind and kill us. There is but one thing to do: Each family must take their most beautiful girl to Salt Spring Mountain to give her to Sxeeluqun, and in that way our homes will be saved!”

“So now all the young girls were called together, oil and the down from the breasts of birds was put on their heads, and they were taken to the bottom of Salt Spring Mountain and told to climb up to the great house of Stthe’quii, there they would find Sxeeluqun waiting for them.

“In this way Sxeeluqun had nearly two hundred young girls living in his home, still he was not happy. He heard that his uncle, Stqamut, had a very beautiful girl at his home at Saanich, and he felt that if he could have this girl he would want nothing more; so he paddled to Saanich to get his new wife.

“At first Stqamut was angry, and afraid to let Sxeeluqun see his girl. “You are not man!” he said. “You are filled with such magic that all are afraid of you! What of those other young girls you have in your home? Leave my daughter and go back to those others!”

Sxeeluqun grew angry. “Listen to me!‘ he shouted, ‘if you will not give me your girl, I will take off my hat, and I will turn my eyes upon your homes and your people, and then, what will become of you?‘

“As he spoke, Sxeeluqun lifted his hat a little way from his head, and at once the thunder sounded all about him, shaking the camp, and all the people came running. out from their houses, begging Stqamut to give up his girl and let them live in peace.

“Take her!” called Stqamut, “and get back to your house before you bring trouble to my people!” So Sxeeluqun paddled away with the girl.

“Some time later a baby girl was born to them, and Sxeeluqun went to Saanich to tell Stqamut the good news. ‘Come hack with me!‘ he said, ‘and see your daughter and your grandchild.”

Stqamut went with him. "Now, as they got into the canoe, Sxeeluqun handed the paddle to his father-in-law.

“You must do the paddling,‘ he said, ‘and I will sit here in the middle of the canoe, where I can look up into the sky!‘ And he sat with his blanket over his hat and his face turned up to the sky.”

"For a time Stqamut paddled along and not one word did they speak, then Stqamut said, “It is time you paddled a little,” and he dropped his paddle into the water and, leaning forward, held it over Sxeeluqun‘s head, so that the water dripped on his face.

“‘Stop that!‘ shouted Sxeeluqun!’ But again the paddle dripped on him, and then Stqamut pushed him in the back with the end of the paddle.

“Now, they were paddling between this place that is now called Cherry Point and Salt Spring Island, and the water was far, far out. A little rock‘ that is covered when the tide is in was sticking up out of the water, and as they passed near to it Sxeeluqun shook the water from his face and shouted:

“‘I will take you no further in my canoe. You must get out on that little rock!‘ He took the other paddle and paddled to the rock. ‘Get out!‘ he shouted, and pushed Stqamut out onto the rock, and paddled away.

“When Stqamut saw that Sxeeluqun was paddling right away, leaving him there to drown, he laughed out loud and, taking his blanket which Sxeeluqun had thrown put onto the rock, he rolled it tightly, tied it around his body under his arms, then he took his paddle and slipped into the water. “Sometimes he paddled himself along, and sometimes he swam, until at last he reached the shore.

“Now he hurried until he came to one of the Cowichans camps. “Come” he shouted; “come with me, for I have had enough of that man Sxeeluqun; he left me out in the middle of the water to drown, and I am going to kill him! Come help me to catch him abd we will have no more great storms to break our homes and kill our people”

“Taking some of our strongest men all carrying clubs made from the horns of ab elk, he hurried up to the house that had been built for Sxeeluqun. As they left the camp, a hunter passed them carrying a seal which he had speared. “Let me have that seal’ asked Stqamut, and throwing it over his shoulder, he carried it with him. “Make a great fire,’ he shouted to the the women in the house , ‘and roast this seal for your husband, who will be here very soon”

“Now Stqamut and his friends hid themselves and waited for Sxeelaguek

“It was not long before Sxeeluqun came walking up the trail, and going into the house, he threw himself down on his bed.

“Ah! That was good luck for Stqamut! He ran into the house, the other men following after him, and taking a strong forked stick, he speared up the roasting seal and holding it in front of him, ran at Sxeeluqun. “In one minute Sxeeluqun was awake. He opened his terrible eyes, and the palace was filled with lightening, but still Stqamut went after him, keeping his eyes down. At last he caught Sxeeluqun, and, throwing the burning seal in his face to block him, and ar once the lighting stopped!’

“Now, the men ran with their clubs and quickly Sxeeluqun to death, the breath went from his body a great bird flew from the house, carrying him away into the skies. And that iss how the thunder and lighting bird away from our land.”