Roland B. Dixon - Maidu Texts - The Serpent-Lover lyrics

13. THE SERPENT-LOVER. Once there lived an old man (and his family). They lived in a sweat-house just this side of Big Springs. The old man had one daughter, they say. And the girl lived there (with him). This girl, they say, every night, when it was nearly dark, went bathing, and did not miss a single night. Then she slept, and dreamed to herself, kept dreaming, dreamed every night, dreaming of the same (person). And (once) she went to bathe, and, having gone bathing, she did not return until morning. In the morning she got back, coming up (to the house) and carrying in her hand some fish. She handed them over to her father, and then staid there, staid sitting down. After a while Great-Snake (Palawaikö) arrived, without having been seen (approaching). From outside the door he peeped in. Then crawling in, continually crawling in, coiling around, he filled up completely one side (of the house) from behind the fire to the door. Then, raising up his head close by the woman, he remained, looking steadily at her. After he had staid a while, he crawled out. He kept crawling out, and by and by had crawled wholly out. Then he went down to the water, kept crawling down into it, until he had wholly crawled into it. Meanwhile the woman remained here in the house. After a time she spoke. "'Let us go!' he said to me," she said. Her father replied, "Ho!"--"I shall go in the morning. 'Let us go in the morning!' he said to me," she said. Then the old man said, "Yes, you must go." Then by and by, after she had staid a while, she slept. In the morning she went to get some water. She saw that person, saw her husband. He gave her a lot of fish. Then on one side (in one hand) she carried the water, and on the other the fish. When she got back, she set down the water and pa**ed over the fish, and he (her father) took them. That morning, after they had finished breakfast, they remained there. Meanwhile (her husband) crawled in. He coiled upon the same place, and filled up all the space between the place behind the fire and the door. And again he remained close by the woman, looking fixedly (at her). Then, after he had staid for a short time, he crawled out, kept crawling out until he had crawled wholly out. Then he crawled up, and went off toward Honey Lake Valley. Then the woman spoke. "Very well! I am going," she said. Then the old man answered, "Yes! Stop a moment! I am making a cane for you." He made a cane, and tied piwi (Angelica?) to the end of the cane. "When you reach there, standing at the edge of the smoke-hole, after looking over, you must throw this (cane) down into the middle of the fireplace," said he. "'Do not trouble me! If you trouble me, I will make your head ache with (something) mysterious,' that you must say," said he. And she answered, "Very well!" and went away. She caught up with him where he was waiting for her on the trail. Then they two went off. He walked like a mortal man, having two legs and two arms, looking exactly like mortal men. Going off again now with the woman, they kept going, kept travelling, until, after a while reaching out, he seized her by the arm. Then she said, "Let go of me! With this, with this mysterious thing I will make your head ache." Then he said, "Hm!" turning to look the other way. So they two went off, kept going, kept travelling until they arrived. After they had arrived, the man crept in (to the house), When he had wholly crept in, the woman peeped over (the edge of the smoke-hole). Then she threw in that piwi. After that she started to run. She ran, kept running; and when she was halfway to the timber, it thundered. It sounded like very loud thunder. When she looked back, the house was blazing up; and as it burned, the fire sounded like loud thunder. She ran, it sounded like thunder, and the world roared. Meanwhile she ran on, paying no attention to it; she kept running, and then soon she went on walking. After a while she arrived (at her father's house), and having reached there, she spoke. "I threw it in well!" she said. "When I had thrown it into the middle of the fireplace, after looking, I ran. And so, while I was about halfway (here), it thundered, while I was halfway to the timber," said she. Then her father said, "Ho! That is what I told you to do when I gave them (the roots) to you." Then they remained there. And this Honey Lake is that great snake's house, they say. And that burning, when it had burned down, they say, where it fell in together, water gathered, came up there. The "Indian" woman k**ing him, the house was burned down, they say(?). It used to be the great snake's house, they say, being destroyed when he was k**ed. That is all, they say.