Voices from the Skeena. Robert Budd

that explains the name of the Xsien.

      Because those people they were up this side Kitwanga [Gitwangax]. They used to live there for fall-time, making food for the winter, you know: berries and fish and all things like that. And after the fall fishing for them, they went home. So that’s how they know everything in the old language up there.

       River of Mists Fur Bearers

      In those times before the white men came in, they made their own traps for wood. They were trapping something like marten, and fishers, and the bear, they used a snare to kill the bear. No gun, no nothing. And what they do with the skin, they tan it and make coats out of it, out of those martens and other things. And mountain goat; they used snares for that. And they used the meat and they used the skin too. They tanned that skin of the mountain goat and used it as a blanket. And it’s very, very warm blanket, better than the Hudson’s Bay’s. Heh heh.

      And when the white mens came in: the Hudson’s Bay peoples was the first people, and then the churches, missionaries. As they call it now, United Church, it’s the first church that came to the Skeena. And then the Anglican, and then the Salvation Army. Those three. And then churches they have further up toward Smithers, in Moricetown, it’s all Roman Catholic. And then from Hazelton this way is United Church and Anglican and Salvation Army.

       St. Mary Magdalene in the Wet’suewet’en Village of Hagwilget Old Ways Are Forgotten

      And besides that it was smallpox. I forget what year it is when the people cleaned out down the Skeena, and there was very few people left when I was a little boy. Not many young people, not many older people, because of that disease was cleaned the people out.

      They say the Hudson’s Bay taking the freight up to go to Babine and it came so late in the fall and it stored in the store at Hazelton, those stuff that had to be shipped in around Babine. That’s how the smallpox starts: any of these people buying sugar, because they like that sugar at that time, you know. Not many before. So they buy those sugars, and that’s where the diseases comes and spread among the people and cleaned the people out. That’s the time of the Hudson’s Bay. They don’t like to say anything about it because they’re scared of the law. They don’t know what to do or what to say in regards to this, you know. They just kept it down because they can’t fight it. They can’t do anything because they don’t know how they can handle it to the law.

      Now before that, when the people lived before the white people came in, and there’s nothing for them to do for a living except what they made by themselves. There’s no vegetables until the Hudson’s Bay came in and brought in the seeds of potatoes. The store man, he said, “It’s a good seed!” He said, “It’s a good seed!”