Chehalis

(map)

The Chehalis called the first French to appear to them "drifting people," because they were thought to be one of the groups which drifted away in the flood.

Once, when the animals were people, Thrush wanted to marry. The girl's parents did not approve, but they finally gave their consent.

Thrush always had a dirty face. His mother-in-law asked him, "Why don't you wash your face?" Thrush did not answer. His mother-in-law kept asking the same thing five days in succession. On the fifth day, Thrush answered, "If I wash my face, something will happen." His wife's parents insisted nonetheless.

Thrush went to the river and washed his face, leaving it streaked as it is today. It began to rain. "Move back from the river. I washed my face," he told his father-in-law. It rained many days and nights, and the river continued to rise. The water covered everything. Many people drifted away and were never found. Thrush, his wife, and his in-laws landed in Upper Chehalis territory. Muskrat dived five times, bringing up dirt. From the dirt he made a little mountain and told the people the land there, where they would be safe. The mountain is now known as Black Mountain, near the town of Gate. When the next flood comes, it will not be flooded, and people will know where to go.

After the earth dried again, the ground was found to be covered with fossil whales. The earth was just like new, and the people could start all over again.

Thelma Adamson, Folk-Tales of the Coast Salish, Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, vol. 27 (New York: American Folklore Society, 1934), 1-2. Told by Peter Heck, 1926; variants, pp. 2-3.