Wa’se-at-each-end (Moses’s account)

Overview

Moses’s K’eLkʷ begins with children playing house inside a hollow log. A rising tide carries the log out to sea without their noticing. They catch gulls for food, but eventually drift into a whirlpool that nearly pulls the log upright and swallows it. A man called One-leg harpoons the log, draws it ashore and shelters them. He hunts seals beside the whirlpool and feeds the children until they grow into young men.

When the children grieve for their families, One-leg lends them his canoe. They twice fail to find it. He finally reveals it beneath branches on what appeared to be a rotten tree. The canoe has human form, with a mouth at each end, and the English text calls it Wa’se-at-each-end. One-leg warns that it devours anyone who crosses in front of it. This danger belongs to the living vessel; his own bodily difference alone does not establish a monstrous nature.

The travelers load seals as food for the canoe. Its bow and stern each eat five seals, after which it travels very quickly. They feed both ends again as the voyage continues. The canoe brings them safely to their parents’ settlement, where their relatives have been mourning them. The final reunion completes the story: the vessel’s appetite can be accommodated, making it a means of rescue as well as a danger.

A second resident, Hard-instep, is jealous of One-leg’s rescue, but the account gives him no developed attack or later punishment. He remains part of this household’s setting rather than a separately elaborated monster. The printed heading credits Moses, and Boas’s introduction locates the collection at Kinkolith in November–December 1894. The canoe should not automatically be equated with Tate’s differently situated helper Mouth-at-Each-End merely because both have paired mouths.

Origins & earliest records

Franz Boas, Tsimshian Texts, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 27 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902). Recorded at Kinkolith, at the Nass River’s mouth, in November–December 1894. Boas’s introduction, dated June 1899, names Philip, Moses, Chief Mountain and Moody as the collection’s narrators. The volume prints the language it calls Nîsqa’E alongside English translation; individual story headings identify their tellers.

Records & interpretation

Complete English K’eLkʷ narrative, pp.102–107, including named Moses heading and final reunion; introduction p.5 supplies recording context. Wa’se is retained from the English name without an invented translation.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

1. 01

   Tsimshian Texts: Nass River Dialect

   Moses, teller; Franz Boas, recorder and translator · 1902

   K’eLkʷ, complete pp.102–107; named Moses heading and introduction p.5.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

1. Primary textBoas 1902 original Nass River collectionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.