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Listen to this story by Ruby Peter of Quamichan told to her cousin Donalda Louie, about Donalda’s brother-in-law Anderson Louie. Ruby says her father always kept a lot of horses for riding.

kw’ukw’athut-stum’ tthu stiqiw | galloping the horse

’een’thu sti’tum’at.
I am sti’tum’at.

nilh tthu sye’yu tst, m’i ne’nuts’uw’t-hwum’ ’uw’ yath.
This is about our relative that comes visiting all the time.

’uy’st-hwus kws qwiil’qwul’tul’s ’u tthunu sta’lus ’i’ tthunu me’mun’u, suw’wuy’qe’ nu me’mun’u.
He liked coming here for conversation with my husband my male children.

’i’ ya-a-ath ’uw’ stl’i’s tthunu me’mun’u kw’ stiqiw.
My children always wanted a horse.

yathulh ’uw’ tstiqiw tthunu men ’iilh xu’athun tthu stiqiws.
My dad used to always have horses; four horses he had.

mukw’ nuw’ s-hwayums sus ’uw’ ’iluquls ’u tthu tractor.
He sold them all and he bought a tractor.

’i’ yath tsun ’uw’ sht’eewun’ kws ’uy’ kwsus stl’i’s tthunu me’mun’u tthu stiqiw.
And I always thought that it would be a good thing that my children like horses.

nusuw’ hunum’ ’u tthu auction ni’ ’u tthu tsaluqw ’utl’ tl’upalus.
So I kept going to the auction that was over above Cowichan Bay.

nusuw’ ’iluquls ’u tthu stiqiw, p’uq’ stiqiw m’i t’ukw’stuhw.
There I bought a white horse and brought it home.

hwu’a’mut susuw’ sq’uq’a’ ’ul’ ’u tthu muloumus, kwus ’i’mush, qw’aqw’ul’.
And we got it home and just grazed it with the cattle. It was really tame.

’i tl’e’ wulh tus tthu sye’yu tst.
And our relative arrived again.

wulh thut, “aaa, stsuw’et tsun kwunus ’aalh ’u tthu stiqiw.
And he said, “I know how to ride a horse.

niilh tsun ’uw’ ’ula’ulh ’u tthu stiqiw.”
I used to ride horses.”

suw’ tstl’um ’aalh.
And he jumped on the horse.

’uwu te’ stem ’a’lu kw’ snes? — setul.
And there was no ..what do you call it…“saddle”.

’uwu te’ harness, ’uwu te’ stem ni’ st’i’am’.
There was no harness or anything on it.

tl’lim’ nuw’ xut’ustum’ bare back riding, ’uwu te’ stem.
So he was just going bareback riding, as there was nothing.

nuw’ tstl’um ’ul’ ’aalh.
And he jumped on the horse.

’i’ ’uw’ hay ’ul’ tthu xwi’lum’ ni’ st’i’am’.
The only thing the horse had was a rope on its mouth.

sus ’uw’ huye’ yu kwukwa’thut tthu stiqiw, kwa’thutst-hwus.
And he went back, galloping away.

ni-i-i nem’ sel’ts’ tl’e’ wulh tetsul.
He circled around and then came back.

suw’ xut’us, “o, ni’ tsun ’iyusstuhw kwunus ’i ’ula’ulh ’u tthun’ stiqiw.
And he told us, “I really love riding this horse.

nem’ tsun tl’e’ wulh huye’.
So I’m going to go riding again.”

sis tl’e’ wulh qul’et huye’ kwa’thut, kwa’thutst-hwus.
So he went galloping away again.

’i’ ni’ wulh xwte’ ’u kwthu p’hwulhp, xu’athun thuthiqut.
And he started going toward where there were garry oaks, four big trees.

’i tsun tuw’ sht’eewun’ kw’ekw’ulukw’ kwus xwte’ ’u kwthey’.
And I was kind of worried that he went that way.

nus ni’ nem’ ’uw’ q’a’thut hwu xi’xlhem’.
And I went to join the others watching.

ni’ wulh huye’ yukwukwa’thut tthu stiqiws.
He went away, galloping his horse.

sis’uw’ xwte’ ’u kwthey’ xu’athun thuthiqut.
I went toward those four trees.

’i’ ’iihw ni’ kwthu sts’ushtutsus.
And there must have been a branch (that was hanging down).

hwun’ yu kwukwa’thut ’i’ ni’ wulh hay tthu stiqiw hay nuw’ yul’ew’
He was still galloping, the horse kept on going.

’i’ hay kwthu Anderson, hay ni’ tahw nuw’ ni’ ’u tthu ts’xemuns kwus qw’aqw ’u tthu sts’ushtutsus.
Anderson got hit right on his chest by the branch.

hay tthu stiqiws hay ni’ yu huy’u ’i’ hay ni’ qtl’um hilum ’u tthu stiqiws.
The horse kept going, but he fell down off his horse.

suw’ hwu’a’mut ’i’ ni’ hwu ’uwu te’ stiqiws, ’a’mut ni’ ’u tthu tumuhw.
And he was sitting there. His horse was gone and he was sitting on the ground.

hwu ’uwu te’ stiqiws.
His horse was gone.

hay tsun sht’eewun’ nilh kwu’elh ’uw’ niis tiqw’ ’u kw’uw’ stem ’ul’.
So I thought that he must have bumped something.

nu suw’ xut’u, “hu ’a-a-a’, nilh kwu’elh ’uw’ niis me’kwulh.”
And I said, “O-o-o, what if he got hurt?”

’i’ ’uwu.
And he wasn’t.

’i-i-i’ ’uw’ yen’yunum’ ’ul’ kwus hilum ’u tthu stiqiws, yen’yunum’ susuw’ lhxilush.
And he was laughing that he fell off his horse, laughing when he stood up.

’i’ ni’ yu huy’u kwthu stiqiw.
And the horse was still going off.

ni-i-i nem’ ’uw’ sul’ts’ ’ul’ kwthu stiqiws sisuw’ nem’ hwu’alum’ nem’ ’u thu saxwulew’t-hw.
The horse went galloping all over around and then it went to the barn.

sis m’uw’ tsam Anderson ’ewu ’u tthu ’i shhw’i tst kwutst lhuxlhuxi’lush.
yu yen’yunum’.
And Anderson came walking up to where we were standing, and he was still laughing.

nusuw’ xut’ustuhw, “ ’uweech niihw me’kwulh?”
And I asked him, “Did you get hurt?”

“’uwu. ’uwu te’ stem ni’ nu shtiqw’.
“No. I didn’t land on anything.

’uwu tsun niin’ yu lumnuhw kwthu sts’ushtutsus ni’ ni’ yu nu shxwut’u.
I didn’t see the branch where I was going.

nilh nu shni’ hilum.”
That’s why I fell.”

hay tthu stiqiws hay ni’ nem’ ’u tthu saxwulew’t-hw, yath ’uw’ shni’s kws xulhusth.
And the horse went to where he always eats—to the barn.

’uw’ ’iyus ’ul’ kw’unilh, yath ’uw’ ’uy’st-hwus kws m’is ne’nuts’uw’t-hwum’ sq’uq’a’ ’u tthunu me’mun’u.
He always liked to visit to be with my boys.

nem’ lemutus tthu stiqiw ’i’ ni’ tl’e’ wulh hwuni’ ’u tthu saxwulew’t-hw.
He went to check on the horse and the horse was at the barn.

hay ch q’u. ni hay.
Thank you. The End.

Some Vocabulary

sye’yu
friend, relative

nets’uw’t-hwum
visit

qwiil’qwul’tul’
talking together, conversing

me’mun’u
children

suw’wuy’qe’
men, male

stiqiw
horse

tstiqiw
have/get a horse

s-hwayum
sell

’iluquls
buy

sht’eewun’
think

t’ukw’stuhw
take it home

hwu’a’mut
get home

sq’uq’a’
be put in with

’i’mush
walking

qw’aqw’ul’
tame, gentle

stsuw’et
adept, know how

’aalh
ride (a horse), get on vehicle

’ula’ulh
be on (a horse or vehicle)

tstl’um
jump on

st’i’am’
stuck on, attached

xwi’lum’
rope

huye’
go away, leave

kwukwa’thut
galloping

kwa’thutstuhw
make it gallop

kw’ukw’athutstum’
galloping it

xwte’
go toward

p’hwulhp
garry oak

thuthiqut
trees

kw’ekw’ulukw’
worrying

q’a’thut
join

xi’xlhem’
watching

sts’ushtutsus
branch

ts’xemuns
his chest

qw’aqw
club, hit

qtl’um
fall off

hilum
fall down

tiqw’
bumped, struck

me’kwulh
injured

yen’yunum’
laughing

lhxilush
stand up

lhuxlhuxi’lush
(plural people) standing up

saxwulew’t-hw
barn

xulhus
eating

Credits

Story by Ruby Peter, told March 1, 2016

Transcription, sound editing, web work by Donna Gerdts

Proofreading by Ruby Peter

Thanks to Carol Louie and Donalda Louie, mentor-apprentice pair funded by FPCC.