XV. The Dog Skah-had: Charlie Moses

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Charlie Moses is a Skagit River Indian. This dog’s name is Skah-had. It is an Indian dog raised by the Indians before the white man reached here. This Charlie Moses, when quite a small boy, was taught by his father that there is a great spirit, that the young man would learn of it if he would do what his father told him.

The Dog

So one day this Charlie Moses went out hunting for a totem. He met a dog. The dog had a partner, Ram Rod. It was something like a ram rod made of wood and this little rod had four wounds and was bleeding from these four wounds. While Charlie Moses stood and looked at him the dog seemed to walk right up to him and pretty soon the dog asked him if he was looking for a great totem. Charlie told him yes, that he would like to meet a strong, powerful totem, and this dog mentioned his name, Skah-had. “I am great,” he said. “I do the suffering for my partner Ram Rod. This little rod is wounded and I am doing the suffering for him. So if I am going to be with you, you will be a powerful man. You can endure all wounds. I will do the suffering for you if you should get wounded, just like I do for my little partner Ram Rod. So don’t be afraid. I am going to be with you. If you should get in a war, go right ahead, don’t be afraid of a wound. Then if you should make a totem, you want to cut out a dog like myself with my little partner, Ram Rod.

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