Indian Stories and Legends of the Stillaguamish and Allied Tribes

By  Nels Bruseth

Author's Forward

     These little stories about animals, people and places have been told to me by people whose friendship I value highly. Several of them are now gone to the happy hunting grounds. It is about twenty years ago since the first ones were written down as notes in a scrapbook. Since then. the collection has been increasing steadily. Have told some of them to friends; they have encouraged me to publish, if possible, a few of the more interesting ones. The demand would of course be limited, and as it costs nearly as much to print a small number of books or pamphlets as more, the price will be higher than it should be. It would be the greatest pleasure to me if I could afford to have a couple hundred copies printed and give them away to people who might wish to have them. However, I make no excuse for this effort; I am sure a few people will appreciate it, regardless of poor grammar, and other faults.
     It is very difficult, at least for me, to spell some of the Indian words so that they can be correctly pronounced. Neither letter or mark will produce just the right sound.
     In getting legends and stories it is well to mention that hearing them told by the people of different tribes they will vary considerably.
     There are quite a number of stories told me by people now dead which are left out of this collection, but will probably be used when sufficient corroboration and proof of local origin and application can be found.
     It is interesting to note that the Indians say Skagit is the name of a place an the other side of Whidby Island and not the right name for the river.
I am greatly indebted to James Dorsey of Trafton and James Price of Hazel for advice and correction as to names of places and checking up on matters contained in these stories.

Listen to the Indian He Knows

     We know a lot about the animals and wild life, don't we also about hunting and fishing, about how things happened to happen and be as they are. But do we know as much about these things as the Indian? No, certainly not. Let us then, at tonight's camp fire, sit down and attentatively listen, to what our Indian friend had to tell us. He hasn't read these stories in books, all he knows and tells us has been told around other camp fires way back into "ole man" time and corroborated by his own observations.

Nels Bruseth,
Arlington, Washington

Stoluckquamish
True to their traditions as "Canoe" Indians

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Indian Stories and Legends of the Stillaguamish and Allied Tribes

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