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018 - The Jealous Women · Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park

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  Speaker 1: Section eighteen of Blackfeet Tales of Glacier National Park by
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  Speaker 1: James Willard Schultz. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain.
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  Speaker 1: Section eighteen. The Jealous Women In those days, A young Coutenet,
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  Speaker 1: good of heart, a great hunter and very brave, married
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  Speaker 1: twin sisters, so alike that except for one thing, they
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  Speaker 1: could not be told apart. One was a slow the
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  Speaker 1: other a very fast talker. In time, the fast talker
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  Speaker 1: named Marmot became jealous of her sister, Commus, complaining all
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  Speaker 1: the time that she had to do the most of
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  Speaker 1: the lodge work, and that she was sure Commus said
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  Speaker 1: bad things about her to their man. Commus denied all this.
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  Speaker 1: I have never tried to place myself first with our man,
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  Speaker 1: she said. We are twins. I love you, dearly. Our
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  Speaker 1: man's heart is so big that it holds us both
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  Speaker 1: in equal love. Now be sensible, cast out your bad thoughts,
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  Speaker 1: for they are all wrong. But Marmot persisted in believing
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  Speaker 1: that she was neglected, that her sister had all their
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  Speaker 1: man's affection, and she finally went to him with her complaint.
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  Speaker 1: He laughed, I love you just as much as I
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  Speaker 1: do your sister. He said, now, just think back and
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  Speaker 1: show me when and in what way I have shown
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  Speaker 1: that she is first with me. Marmott sat down and thought.
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  Speaker 1: She thought a long time, remained silent. The man was
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  Speaker 1: very patient with her. He waited for her answer, but
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  Speaker 1: it did not come. At last he said, well, you
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  Speaker 1: have thought a long time. Have you found one thing
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  Speaker 1: in which I gave her preference? No? I haven't, But
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  Speaker 1: all the same, I believe that you love her best.
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  Speaker 1: Marmott answered, and got up and went about her work.
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  Speaker 1: The man shook his head, made no answer to that,
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  Speaker 1: and took up his weapons and went hunting down the river.
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  Speaker 1: At the time he was camped right here at this lake.
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  Speaker 1: The man had not gone far, moving slowly carefully through
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  Speaker 1: the timber and brush along the river, when he heard
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  Speaker 1: a head a great splashing in the water, and going closer,
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  Speaker 1: found that it was caused by two otters playing. They
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  Speaker 1: would chase each other in the water, then climb the
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  Speaker 1: bank and go as swift as arrows from a bow
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  Speaker 1: down a slide that they had made, and again chase
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  Speaker 1: and tumble each other over in the water. The man
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  Speaker 1: crept closer to the slide, an arrow in his bow,
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  Speaker 1: another in his hand, and watching his chance, shot one
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  Speaker 1: of the players. He tried to get the other, but
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  Speaker 1: it dived and was gone before he could fit the
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  Speaker 1: other arrow to his bow. It is too bad that
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  Speaker 1: I didn't get the other. I would have liked a
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  Speaker 1: skin of these medicine skins for each of my women,
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  Speaker 1: he said to himself. He took the otter home and
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  Speaker 1: handed it to Thamas. That is yours. He said, there
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  Speaker 1: were two of them. Tomorrow, Marmot, I will get the
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  Speaker 1: other for you, and then you will each have a
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  Speaker 1: strong medicine skin. Marmot said nothing, but looked cross. The
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  Speaker 1: man went hunting the next day, but he could not
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  Speaker 1: find the other otter. He searched the river for many
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  Speaker 1: days and could not find one. And as the days passed,
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  Speaker 1: Marmot became more and more angry, and finally said to
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  Speaker 1: her sister, I have proof now that our man loves
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  Speaker 1: you best. He gave you the otter. He does not
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  Speaker 1: even try to get one for me. He hunts other
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  Speaker 1: animals every day, big horned goats, animals that live nowhere
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  Speaker 1: near the haunts of the otter. Now, don't be foolish,
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  Speaker 1: Commas answered, you know as well as I do that
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  Speaker 1: he has tried and tried to get the other otter
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  Speaker 1: for you, but at the same time he has to
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  Speaker 1: get meat for us. That is why he hunts the
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  Speaker 1: mountain animals. Commas, the two of us, us can no
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  Speaker 1: longer live in this lodge, cried Marmot. You are a
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  Speaker 1: bad woman. I hate you. I will fight you any
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  Speaker 1: way you say, to see which of us shall be
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  Speaker 1: our man's one wife. Then it was that for the
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  Speaker 1: first time Commus became angry. We have no weapons to
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  Speaker 1: fight with, she answered, But I propose this. We will
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  Speaker 1: swim this lake across and back, and across and back
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  Speaker 1: until one of us becomes tired and drowned. Now, crazy woman,
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  Speaker 1: what do you say to that? Come on, come on,
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  Speaker 1: Marmot cried, and ran to the shore and tore off
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  Speaker 1: her clothes. So did Thamus, and the two rushed into
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  Speaker 1: the water and began their swim of hate. They crossed
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  Speaker 1: the lake, turned and came back, crossed again, and started back.
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  Speaker 1: Commus well in the lead. She reached the shore in
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  Speaker 1: front of the lodge, dragged herself out on the shore,
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  Speaker 1: and turned Her sister had gone down. There was not
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  Speaker 1: even a ripple on the still water. Marmot was drowned.
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  Speaker 1: Hardly knowing what she did, she put on her clothes
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  Speaker 1: and went into the lodge and cried and cried. The
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  Speaker 1: man came home, she was still crying. He asked her
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  Speaker 1: where Marmot was, and she cried all the harder, but
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  Speaker 1: at last told him all. Then the man cried together.
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  Speaker 1: The two mourned for a long time and searched the
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  Speaker 1: lake for the body of the lost one, and could
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  Speaker 1: not find it. So they moved away from the unhappy
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  Speaker 1: place and returned to the camp of their people. But
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  Speaker 1: it was a long time, a very long time before
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  Speaker 1: they ceased mourning, and never again would they go anywhere
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  Speaker 1: near the lake. Yes, this is the lake of the
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  Speaker 1: jealous women. End of section eighteen.