The Miser of Nisqually
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Stoneware, 24" x 10" x 5" (HxWxL) Price: $995 |
The Legend
There once was a man from Nisqually. He was a great hunter. Whenever his nieghbors ran short of food he sold them elk meat or salmon for shell money known as hiaqua. He could never get enough hiaqua he always wanted more. He hid his hiaqua away never letting his wife have any. He always dreamed of finding a great treasure of it. Again and again he asked the spirits to tell him where he could find more shell money. Finally Moosmoos the elk spirit told him to look on the top of Mt Rainier. All that night and the next day he climbed. At the top he found a huge crater. He dug and dug in the deep snow. When he thrust his hand into the hole he found pure white shells, at last he had found what he had always wanted. He hurriedly started down the mountian with his treasure. The spirits began to chase him for he had left them nothing. Becoming frighten he began to toss strings of hiaqua at the spirits. At the bottom worn out he fell asleep. When he awoke he was an old man he had slept for thirty years. His wife was left destitute not knowing where he had hid the money. Feeling great remorse he became a changed man. He was contented with what he had and cheerfully shared with others. He became the Great Medicine Man of the Nisqually.