Bates Lake & Mush Lake
Sí Mǟn & Tashäl Mǟn – Ochre Lake & Deep Lake – Bates Lake & Mush Lake
Southern Tutchone
Kwädą̄y ch’äw dän Titl’àt Mǟn kwäts’än, Sí Mǟn yè Tashäl Mǟn yanda łänàjèl kwäch’e tth’ay. Äyet Sí Dhǟl kay ts’än kä̀nàch’į tsi kä̀nadä̀l. Ätl’a uyè a ghàjenùmän du. Dän ächē k’e shų̄, dän uyè däts’atąy ńk’àtü dädhèt. Äyet ts’än shų tthechä̀l kä̀nadä̀l tth’ay. Tashäl Mǟn mày yū Harry Joe kų̀ kwä̀’ą. Äyū kàch’į nena ka nàkhèl ya kwäni kwädą̄y ch’äw. Äk’ān k’e udunèna shèk’ā yúk’e łu ka ghàadä́ch’ą̈̀r yè nä̀nadä̀l.
English
Kitty Smith who was originally from Shäwshe (Dalton Post–Neskatahin) told stories about these lakes. At Sí Mǟn ‘Ochre Lake’ (Mush Lake) her grandfather watched six caribou try to swim across the lake. They were pulled down by a whirlpool and never came up. And at Tashäl Mǟn ‘Deep Lake’ (Bates Lake) a giant snake came ashore at a camp, chasing a small barking dog. It knocked trees down with its head. The lake barely freezes over because of the snake.
On the north side of Sí Mǟn stands Sí Dhäl ‘Ochre Mountain’. The red ochre was found right on top of this mountain. People would use the fine powder to mark a cross on their forehead when someone died, or on the forehead of a patient when they were ill. The ochre also was used to place marks on snowshoes in certain places for protection.
There is a cabin on the north of Mush Lake where the Jessie and Harry Joe family stayed one winter and trapped marten, fox, mink, lynx and wolverine. At one time Johnny Brown and family panned for gold around here in the summer and earned enough to buy food for the winter.