= har THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE US, BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY TO THE SECRETARY OF THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION 1909-1910 WASHINGTON GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 1916 LETTER OF TRANSMITTAL SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, Bureau oF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY, Washington, D. C., August 4, 1910. Sir: I have the honor to submit herewith the Thirty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910. With appreciation of your aid in the work under my charge, Tam Very respectfully, yours, F. W. Hopes, Ethnologist-in-Charge. Dr. CHartes D. WaAtcort, Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. 2 a CONTENTS REPORT OF THE ETHNOLOGIST-IN-CHARGE Page Systematic researches). case cise pos ae Se ee ee eee Sent ooo 7 Special researches ss iou ere stance ees aoe eee nat ces aa ee eee 17 Tete Aap N Vay nto) Ye eg eons Bn cea cA te Sette Die oe Soe oO meyer A ah 20 Aastra TOTS Stee ese eh Sree ene eee or = es Rey enn See ee 22 bill Seach eee Shee ee ers Sars Sect me ern ape emete. ae Ne Sa ee Say ae EL eS he BS a 22 IMamuscrt pte sans ne y= ane mens ects os SP IEE ei he Sear ale Seema SAS Hae 23 Removallototices'= 55: Gere ta Pena eas eee ee Ae ee 23 [inO) SOU Nie SED SS DASE ROB SHOR He ESS ooene ee an ee aban ace Senne se aaa Ree en oe 24 Administration.............-- ee et St EE SNE A aes Ps OE. eS 25 Notesonkthesaccompaniyinespapeninee eyecare sea ae ee ee 25 ACCOMPANYING PAPER Tsimshian Mythology, by Franz Boas, based on texts recorded by Henry W. spate) (ples Ss iiGseel oA) tera esther caer ee ates, Soeeiee cee sie ere Se 27 Jada Oleh YOu si sid, HTANOLOGIST-IN-CHARGEH THIRTY-FIRST ANNUAL REPORT OF THE BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY F. W. Hoper, Ethnologist-in-Charge SYSTEMATIC RESEARCHES The operations of the Bureau of American Ethnology during the fiscal year ended June 30, 1910, conducted in accordance with the act of Congress approved March 4, 1909, authorizing the continuation of ethnological researches among the American Indians and the natives of Hawaii, under the direction of the Smithsonian Institution, were carried forward in accordance with the plans of operations approved by the Secretary June 1, 1909, and January 7, 1910. During the first half of the fiscal year the administration of the Bureau was under the immediate charge of Mr. William H. Holmes, who, on January 1, 1910, severed his official con- nection with the Bureau in order to resume his place as head curator of anthropology in the United States National Museum and to become curator of the National Gallery of Art, as well as to enable him to take advantage of the facilities afforded by the change for publishing the results of his various archeological researches. Mr. F. W. Hodge was designated on the same date to assume the administration of the Bureau under the title “ethnologist-in-charge.”’ In view of the approaching change and of the necessity for devoting much of his time to affairs connected with the Department of Anthropology of the National Museum and the National Gallery of Art and the administration of the Bureau, 7 8 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Mr. Holmes found it impracticable to give attention to field research during the remainder of 1909. Good progress was made in the preparation of the Handbook of American Archeology, to which he had devoted much attention during the year and to which reference has been made in previous reports. The systematic ethnological researches of the Bureau were continued as in previous years with the regular force of the Bureau, consisting of eight ethnologists, increased to ten toward the close of the year by the appointment of two additional members of the staff, and finally decreased by the death of one member. In addition, the services of several specialists in their respective fields were enlisted for special work, as follows: Prof. Franz Boas, honorary philologist, with several assist- ants, for research in the languages of the American aborigi- nes, particularly with the view of incorporating the results in the Handbook of American Indian Languages. Miss Alice C. Fletcher and Mr. Francis La Flesche, for continuing the revision of the proofs of their monograph on the Omaha Indians, to be published as the “accom- panying paper” of the Twenty-seventh Annual Report. Miss Frances Densmore, for researches in Indian music. Mr. J. P. Dunn, for studies of the tribes of the Algonquian family residing or formerly resident in the Middle West. Rev. Dr. George P. Donehoo, for investigations in the history, geography, and ethnology of the tribes formerly living in western Pennsylvania and southwestern New York, for incorporation in the Handbook of American Indians. Mr. William R. Gerard, for studies of the etymology of Algonquian place and tribal names and of terms that have found their way into the English language, for incorporation in the same work. Prof. H. M. Ballou, in conjunction with Dr. Cyrus Thomas, for bibliographic research in connection with the List of Works Relating to Hawaii, in course of preparation for publication. a ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT ; 9 The systematic ethnological researches by members of the regular staff of the Bureau are summarized as follows: Mr. F. W. Hodge, ethnologist-in-charge, when administra- tive work permitted devoted his attention almost exclusively to the editing of the Handbook of American Indians (pt. 2), which was so far advanced toward completion at the close of the fiscal year that it seemed very probable the volume would be ready for distribution within about six months. As the work on part 2 was in progress, advantage was taken of the opportunity afforded by the necessary literary research in connection therewith to procure new data for incorpora- tion in a revised edition of the entire work, which it is pro- posed to issue as soon as the first edition of part 2 has appeared. The demand for the handbook is still very great, many thousands of requests having been received which could not be supplied owing to the limited edition. With the exception of a brief trip, Mr. James Mooney, ethnologist, remained in the office throughout the entire fiscal year, occupied chiefly in the elaboration of his study of Indian population, with frequent attention to work on the ~ Handbook of American Indians, and to various routine duties, especially those connected with supplying informa- tion to correspondents. The investigation of the former and present population covers the entire territory north of Mexico, from the discovery to the present time, and involves the close examination of a great body of literature, particularly docu- mentary records of the various colonies and of the official reports of French and Spanish explorers and commanders, together with such special collections as the Jesuit Relations and the annual Indian reports of the United States and Cana- dian governments from the beginning. It 1s also necessary, first, to fix and differentiate the tribe, and then to follow the wasting fortunes of each tribe and tribal remnant under change of name and habitat, further subdivision, or new combination, to the end. For better handling, the whole territory has been mapped into fifteen sections, each of which has its own geographic and historical unity, and can thus be studied separately. The investigation includes a 10 . BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY summary of the Indian wars, and notable epidemics within the same region from the discovery. No similar investiga- tion has ever before been attempted, even the official Indian reports being incomplete as to identity of tribes and number of Indians not directly connected with agencies. In January, 1910, by request of those organizations, Mr. Mooney was designated to represent the Bureau of American Ethnology at the joint meeting of the Mississippi Valley Historical Association and the Nebraska State His- torical Society, held at Lincoln, Nebraska, and deliveréd several addresses, with particular reference to the utiliza- tion of the methods and results of the Bureau in local ethnologic and historical research. At the request of the Secretary of the Interior, Dr. J. Walter Fewkes, ethnologist, continued the excavation and repair of the prehistoric ruins in the Mesa Verde National Park, in southern Colorado, begun in the previous year. Doctor Fewkes commenced work on Cliff Palace in May, 1909, and completed the excavation and repair of this cele- brated ruin in August. He then proceeded to northwestern Arizona, and made a reconnoissance of the Navaho National Monument, visiting and studying the extensive cliff and other ruins of that section, knowledge of the existence of which he had gained many years ago during his ethnological researches among the Hopi Indians. At the close of this investigation Doctor Fewkes returned to Washington and prepared for the Secretary of the Interior a report on the excavation and repair of Cliff Palace, which was published by the Department of the Interior in November. - A more comprehensive illustrative report on the same ruins, giving the scientific results of Doctor Fewkes’s studies during the progress of the excavation of Cliff Palace, was prepared for publication as Bulletin 51 of the Bureau of American Eth- nology and is now in press, forming a companion publication to his description of Spruce-tree House, published earlier in the fiscal year as Bulletin 41. Doctor Fewkes prepared also a report on his preliminary researches in the Navaho National Monument, which is in type and will be published as Bul- letin 50. During the remainder of the winter and spring, ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT: 1 Doctor Fewkes was occupied in the preparation of a mono- graph on Casa Grande, an extensive ruin in Arizona, exca- vated and repaired by him during previous years. He gave some time also to the elaboration of an account of antiquities of the Little Colorado Valley, a subject to which he has devoted considerable study. This work was interrupted in May, 1910, when he again departed for the Navaho National Monument for the purpose of continuing the archeological studies commenced during the previous field season. At the close of the year Doctor Fewkes was still at work in this region. Owing to the large amount of material in process of publication as a result of his own researches or assigned to him by reason of his special knowledge of the subjects involved, Dr. John R. Swanton, ethnologist, devoted the year entirely to office work. Much of this time was spent in proof reading (1) Bulletin 43, Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, the result of personal field investigations and_ historical study; as well as in proof reading (2) Bulletin 46, a Choctaw Dictionary, by the late Cyrus Byington; and (3) Bulletin 47, on the Biloxi Language, by the late J. Owen Dorsey, arranged and edited by Doctor Swanton, who incorporated therein the related Ofo material collected by him in 1908 and added a brief historical account of the Ofo tribe. In connection with his researches on the Southern tribes or tribal remnants, Doctor Swanton has revised and rearranged the Attacapa, Chitimacha, and Tunica linguistic material collected by the late Dr. Albert S. Gatschet and has put it almost in final form for the press. With the aid of several texts recorded in 1908, Doctor Swanton has spent some time in studying the Natchez language, preparatory to further investigations among the survivors of this formerly important group, now in Oklahoma. The remainder of his energies has been devoted chiefly to researches pertaining to the Creek Con- federacy, with the aid of books and documents in the library of the Bureau and in the Library of Congress, in anticipa- tion of field investigation among the Creek tribes to be undertaken, it is expected, later in 1910. 12 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Mrs. M. CG. Stevenson, ethnologist, continued her researches among the Pueblo tribes of the Rio Grande Valley, New Mexico, giving special attention to the Tewa group. As during the previous year, her studies were devoted chiefly to the pueblo of San Idefonso, which offers better facilities for ethnologic investigation than the other Tewa villages, although her inquiries were extended also to Santa Clara and Nambé. Owing to the extreme conservatism of the Tewa people, Mrs. Stevenson found great difficulty in overcoming their prejudices against the study of the esoteric side of their life, but with patience she succeeded finally in gaining the warm friendship of many of the more influential headmen, and by this means was enabled to pursue a systematic study of the Tewa religion, sociology, and philosophy. Like most Indians, the Tewa are so secretive in everything that pertains to their worship that one not familiar with their religious life is readily mislead into believing that the ceremonies held in . the public plazas of their villages which, with few exceptions, are more Mexican than Indian in outward character, consti- tute the sole rites of these people, whereas it has been found that the Tewa still adhere as strictly to many of their ancient customs as before white men came among them, although some of their ceremonies are now less elaborate than they were in former times. While the creation myth of the San Ildefonso Indians differs somewhat from those of the Zufi and of other Pueblo tribes, it is the same in all essentials. According to their belief they were created in an undermost world, and passed through three other worlds before reaching this one. The tribe is divided into the Sun or Summer, and the Ice or Winter, people, the former having preceded the latter in their advent into this world, and their final home was reached on the western bank of the Rio Grande almost opposite the present pueblo. This place is marked by an extensive ruin. Every mountain peak, near and far, within sight of San Ildefonso is sacred to the Tewa people, and they make pil- grimages at prescribed intervals to lofty heights far beyond the range of their home. The names of these sacred moun- tains, with a full description of each, were procured. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 18} The philosophy of all the Pueblos is closely related in a general way, yet there are marked differences in detail. Although Mrs. Stevenson has penetrated the depths of the Tewa philosophy, she has not been able to discover any dis- tinctive features, it being a composite of Zuni, Sia, and Taos beliefs. The great desire of all these people, and the burden of their songs and prayers, is that rain, which in their belief is produced by departed ancestors working behind the cloud- masks in the sky, should come to fructify the earth, and that they may so live as to merit the beneficence of their deities. The entrance to this world is believed to be through a body of water which the Tewa of San Ildefonso declare existed near their village until certain Zuni came and spirited the water away to their own country. Further studies, no doubt, will shed more light on these interesting beliefs, and render clearer the origin and relations of Tewa and Zuni concepts. There are but two rain priests among the Tewa of San Ildefonso: one pertaining to the Sun people, the other to the Ice people, the former taking precedence in the general management of tribal affairs. The rain priest of the Sun is the keeper of the tribal calendar and is the supreme head of the Sun people. The governor of San Ildefonso, who is chosen virtually by the rain priest of the Sun people, is elected annually, and has greater power than that accorded a Zuni governor. The war chief, whose religious superior is the war priest, who holds the office during life, is also elected annually, and also is a person of great power. There are three kivas, or ceremonial chambers, at San Ildefonso, one belonging to the Sun people, another to the Ice people, and one used jointly for certain civic gatherings, for rehearsal of dances, and for other purposes. The religion of the Tewa of San Ildefonso consists in worship of a supreme bisexual power and of gods anthropic (embracing celestial and ances- tral) and zoic, the latter especially associated with the sacred fraternities. The fundamental rites and ceremonies of these fraternities are essentially alike among all the Pueblos. Their theurgists are the great doctors, whose function is to expel disease inflicted by witchcraft, and those of San 14 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Ildefonso have as extensive a pharmacopeeia as the Zufi theurgists. The belief of the Tewa in witchcraft is intense, and is a source of great anxiety among them. Accused wizards or witches are tried by the war chief. Many of the San Ildefonso ceremonies associated with an- thropic worship are identical with those of Taos, while others are the same as those observed by the Zuni, although neither the ritual nor the paraphernalia is so elaborate. Some of the songs used in connection with the dances at San Ilde- fonso are in the Zuni tongue. It is to be hoped that further comparative study among these people will reveal to what extent the ceremonies have been borrowed, like that of the Koh’-kok-shi of the Zufi, which is asserted to have been in- troduced by way of Santo Domingo generations ago by a Laguna Indian who had visited Zuni. Mrs. Stevenson devoted much attention to a study of Tewa games, finding that those regarded as of the greatest im- portance to the Zufi in bringing rain have been abandoned by the San Ildefonso people. The foot race of the latter is identical with that of Taos, and is performed annually after the planting season. As complete a collection and study of the Tewa medicinal plants were made as time permitted. The material culture of the Tewa also received special at- tention. Weaving is not an industry at San Ildefonso, the only weaver in the tribe being a man who learned at Laguna to make women’s belts. Basketry of various forms is made of willow. The San Ildefonso people, like other Pueblos, have deteriorated in the ceramic art, and they have now little or no understanding of the symbols employed in pot- tery, except the common form of cloud and rain. Their method of irrigation is the same as that observed by the neighboring Mexicans, who, having acquired extensive tracts of land from the San Ildefonso land grant, work with the Indians on the irrigating ditches for mutual benefit. The ‘San Ildefonso people raise a few cattle and horses, but no sheep. Much of their land is owned in severalty, and their chief products are corn, wheat, and alfalfa. The women raise melons, squashes, and chile. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 15 While marriages, baptisms, and burials are attended with the rites of the Catholic Church, a native ceremony is always performed before the arrival of the priest. While their popular dances of foreign admixture are sometimes almost depleted by reason of intoxication, no such thing happens when a purely Indian ceremony is performed, for the dread of offending their gods prevents them from placing themselves in such condition as not to be able to fulfill their duty to the higher powers. Mrs. Stevenson not only prepared the way for a close study of the Tewa of Nambé by making a warm friend of the rain priest of that pueblo, but found much of interest at the Tigua pueblo of Taos and Picuris, especially in the kivas of the latter village. It was in an inner chamber of one of the Picuris kivas that the priests are said to have observed their rites during the presence of the Spaniards. Another interesting feature observed at Picuris was the hanging of scalps to a rafter in an upper chamber of a house, the eastern side of which was open in order to expose the scalps to view. At Picuris the rain priests, like those of Zuni and San Ildefonso, employ paddle- shaped bone implements (identical with specimens, hitherto undetermined, found in ruins in the Jemez Mountains and now in the National Museum) for lifting the sacred meal during their rain ceremonies. During a visit to Taos Mrs. Stevenson obtained a full description of an elaborate ceremony performed immediately after an eclipse of the sun. After her return to Washington, in February, Mrs. Steven- son devoted attention to the preparation of a paper on the textile fabrics and dress of the Pueblo Indians. For com- parative studies it was necessary to review a large number of works on the general subject and to examine collections pertaining thereto. Mrs. Stevenson also prosecuted her studies of medicinal and edible plants. During the entire fiscal year Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, ethnolo- gist, was engaged in office work devoted chiefly to studies connected with the Handbook of American Indians, espe- cially part 2. A number of articles designed for this work 16 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY had been prepared by other collaborators, but were recast by Mr. Hewitt in order to embody in them the latest views regarding their subject-matter. Mr. Hewitt also conducted extensive reséarches into the history of the Indians of the Susquehanna River during the seventeenth century, and their relations with neighboring peoples, resulting in the discovery that a number of important tribes were desig- nated by the names Susquehanna, Conestoga or Andastes, Massawomek, Erie, Black Minquas, Tehotitachsae, and Atrakwayeronon (Akhrakwayeronon). It is proposed to incorporate this material into a bulletin, with several early maps, in order to make it available to students of the his- tory of the Indians of Pennsylvania and New York, and their relations with white people. Mr. Hewitt also devoted about two months to the translation of Onondaga native texts relating to the New Year ceremony, and began work on the classification of the late Jeremiah Curtin’s Seneca legends, with a view of preparing them for publication by the Bureau. As custodian of the linguistic manuscripts in the Bureau archives, Mr. Hewitt spent considerable time in installing this material, comprising 1,704 items, on its removal from the former quarters of the Bureau to the Smithsonian building. He was frequently occupied also in receiving manuscripts and in searching and charging those required by collaborators either for temporary or for prolonged use. Much time and labor were also devoted by Mr. Hewitt to the collection and preparation of data of an ethnological character for replies to correspondents. Dr. Cyrus Thomas, ethnologist, while not engaged in revis- ing the proofs of Bulletin 44, Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America and their Geographical Distribution, prepared by him with the assistance of Doctor Swanton, devoted his attention to the elaboration of the List of Works Relating to Hawaii, with the collaboration of Prof. H. M. Ballou. Toward the close of the fiscal year Doctor - Thomas undertook an investigation of the relations of the Hawaiians to other Polynesian peoples, but unfortunately this work was interrupted in May by illness which termi- nated in his death on June 26. Doctor Thomas had been a ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 1L7/ member of the Bureau’s staff since 1882 and, as-his memoirs published by the Bureau attest, one of its most industrious and prolific investigators. As the result of a special civil-service examination held March 3, 1910, the staff of the Bureau was increased by the appointment, as ethnologists, of Dr. Truman Michelson on June 1 and of Dr. Paul Radin on June 3. Doctor Radin immediately made preparations to resume his researches among the Winnebago Indians in Nebraska and Wisconsin, commenced under personal auspices three years before, and by the close of the fiscal year was making excellent progress toward completing his studies of this important Siouan group. About the same time Doctor Michelson departed for Mon- tana with the purpose of studying the Blackfeet, Northern Cheyenne, and Northern Arapaho, Algonquian tribes, whose relations to the other members of the stock are not definitely known. It is the intention that Doctor Michelson obtain a view of the relations of the Algonquian tribes generally, in order that he may become equipped for an exhaustive study of the Delaware and Shawnee tribes, so important in the colonial and later history of the United States. Doctor Michelson reached the Blackfoot country on June 16, and within a few days had recorded a considerable body of ethno- logical, mythological, and linguistic material relating to the Piegan division. SPECIAL RESEARCHES The special researches of the Bureau in the linguistic field were conducted, as in the past, by Dr. Franz Boas, honorary philologist, whose work during the fiscal year resulted in bringing nearly to completion the first volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages. The whole matter is in type, 735 pages were in practically final form at the close of the fiscal year, and the sketches of only three languages remained to be revised before paging. Besides the purely technical work of revising and proof reading, the most important work on the first volume was a thorough revision of the Aleonquian sketch by Dr. William Jones, who 50633°—31 ETH—16—-—2 * 18 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY had planned to make certain additions to the manuscript, but whose unfortunate death in the Philippine Islands left his researches on the Algonquian languages incomplete. The revision was assigned to Dr. Truman Michelson, who made a careful comparison between Doctor Jones’s descrip- tion of the language and his published collection of texts. Considerable progress was made on the preparation of the second volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages. Owing to expansion of a number of the original sketches, which was due to the lapse of time since they were first recorded, the first volume had increased so much in size that it became necessary to relegate the Takelma to the second volume. At the beginning of the fiscal year Dr. Leo J. Frachtenberg carried on investigations under the direction of Doctor Boas among the Coos Indians of Oregon. He succeeded in col- lecting a considerable body of texts from the survivors, and at the same time revised the material collected several years ago by Mr. H. H. St. Clair, 2d. Doctor Frachtenberg completed his studies of the grammar of the language, and the manuscript of this sketch for the second volume was delivered and is partly in type. Toward the end of the year Doctor Frachtenberg made preparatory studies in the Alsea language of Oregon, based on manuscript texts collected a number of years ago by Prof. Livingston Farrand on an expedition due to the generosity of the late Mr. Henry Villard. The completion of the ethnological research work among the Alsea has been provided for by a contribution of funds by Mrs. Villard, which will make it possible to complete also the linguistic investigation of the tribe during the field season of 1910. In June Doctor Frachtenberg visited two survivors of the Willopah tribe who were said to remember the language, but unfortunately only about 300 words could be obtained, and practically no grammatical forms. Further preparatory work on the second volume of the Handbook of American Indian Languages was carried on by Mr. James Teit, who elucidated the details of the distribution ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 19 of the Salish dialects of the State of Washington. Part of this work was supported by the generosity of Mr. Homer E. Sargent, of Chicago. The special researches in Indian music were continued in behalf of the Bureau by Miss Frances Densmore, who has done so much toward preserving the vanishing songs of the Indians. The principal new phase that has arisen in Miss Densmore’s work is the importance of the rhythmic unit in Chippewa songs. Her observations indicate that the rhythmic phrase is the essential element of the song; indeed Miss Densmore is inclined to think that the first idea of the song may be a mental rhythm assuming the form of a short unit, and that its expression follows the overtones of a fundamental which exists somewhere in the subconsciousness of the singer. The tabulated analyses show that 99 out of 180 songs to appear in Bulletin 45 (in press) begin on the twelfth or fifth, and 34 begin on the octave—a total of 133 out of 180 beginning on the principal overtones. Of 180 songs, 120 end on the tonic, and yet the tonic does not usually appear until near the close of the song. Melodic phrases are seldom recurrent. In the oldest songs the words are sung between repetitions of the rhythmic unit, and have a slight rhythm and small melody progres- sions. Rhythm varies less often than earlier words or melody in repetition, especially when the rhythm is com- prised in a definite unit. All these facts emphasize the importance of the rhythm, and also have a bearing on the problem of the development of primitive music, which it is designed to treat in a practical rather than in a theoretical way. The independence of voice and drum noted by Miss Dens- more in previous studies was further shown by the data col- lected during the year; also the prominence of the descending interval of the minor third, and the marked use of overtones in the choice of melodic material. The songs collected comprise a group of 40 secured at Ponima, a remote village on the Red Lake Reservation, Minnesota, and the:series of war songs which Miss Densmore 20 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY is now completing and which she expects to finish before the close of the calendar year. It is the intention to combine the analyses of these with the analyses contained in Bulletin 45 of the Bureau, always bringing forward previous work, in order that the results may be cumulative. It is Miss Dens- more’s desire, before leaving the Chippewa work, to analyze about 500 songs collected from a representative number of localities, as the data derived from systematic analyses of that number of songs should be a safe basis for what might be termed a scientific musical study of primitive song. Miss Alice C. Fletcher and Mr. Francis La Flesche have continued the proof revision of their monograph of the Omaha Indians to accompany the Twenty-seventh Annual Report, a part of which was in page form at the close of the fiscal year. Mr. J. P. Dunn pursued his studies of the Algonquian tribes of the Middle West under a small allotment of funds by the Bureau, but comparatively little progress was made, as it was found advisable to hold the investigations somewhat in abeyance until two important manuscript dictionaries—one of the Peoria, the other of the Miami language—known to exist, could be carefully examined, with a view of avoiding repetition of effort. Mr. Dunn was enabled, however, to revise and annotate completely a text in the Miami and Peoria dialects recorded by the late Doctor Gatschet. PUBLICATIONS. The editorial work of the Bureau was conducted by Mr.J.G. Gurley, who from time to time, as pressure required, had the benefit of the aid of Mr. Stanley Searles. All the publications of the Bureau have passed under Mr. Gurley’s editorial super- vision, with the exception of part 2 of Bulletin 80 (Handbook of American Indians), which has been in special charge of Mr. F. W. Hodge, editor of the work, assisted by Mrs. F. 8. Nichols. In order to facilitate progress in the publication of the Handbook of American Indian Languages, the editor thereof, Dr. Franz Boas, assumed entire charge of the proof reading in January, thus enabling Mr. Gurley to devote more time to the numerous other publications passing through press. ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 21 In all, the manuscripts of seven publications—Bulletins 37, 44, 45, 48, 49, 50, and 51—were prepared for the Govern- ment Printing Office, while proof reading was continued on nine publications—the Twenty-seventh Annual Report and Bulletins 30 (part 2), 38, 39, 40 (part 1), 41, 43, 46, and 47, which were in hand in various stages of progress at the begin- ning of the fiscal year. The number of publications issued was five—Bulletins 38, 39, 41,48,and49. The Twenty-seventh Annual Report is in type and a substantial beginning was made toward putting it into page form. ‘The proof of the “aecompanying paper”? on the Omaha Indians, by Miss Fletcher and Mr. La Flesche, was critically read by the authors and is in condition to be completed in a few months. Bulletins 37 and 48 are practically ready for the bindery, and Bulletins 40 (part 1) and 45 are nearly as far advanced. Bulletin 44 had the benefit of revision by the principal au- thor, Dr.Cyrus Thomas, shortly before his death, and a second galley proof was received. ‘The first galley proof of Bulletins 50 and 51 was placed in the hands of the author, Doctor Fewkes, for revision. Owing to the condition of the Bu- reau’s allotment for printing and binding, as reported by the Public Printer, and on his suggestion that the work for the fiscal year be curtailed, Bulletins 46 and 47 were not carried beyond the first galley stage. Appended is a list of the publications above mentioned, with their respective titles and authors: Twenty-seventh Annual Report (1905-6), containing ac- companying paper entitled “The Omaha Tribe,” by Alice C. Fletcher and Francis La Flesche. Bulletin 37. Antiquities of Central and Southeastern Mis- sourl, by Gerard Fowke. Bulletin 38. Unwritten Literature of Hawaii, by Nathaniel B. Emerson, A. M., M. D. Bulletin 39. Tlingit Myths and Texts, by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 40. Handbook of American Indian Languages (Part 1), by Franz Boas. Bulletin 41. Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Spruce-tree House, by J. Walter Fewkes. 99, BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Bulletin 43. Indian Tribes of the Lower Mississippi Valley and Adjacent Coast of the Gulf of Mexico, by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 44. Indian Languages of Mexico and Central America, and their Geographical Distribution, by Cyrus Thomas, assisted by John R. Swanton. Bulletin 45. Chippewa Music, by Frances Densmore. Bulletin 46. A Dictionary of the Choctaw Language, by Cyrus Byington; edited by John R. Swanton and Henry §&. Halbert. Bulletin 47. A Dictionary of the Biloxi and Ofo Languages, Accompanied with Thirty-one Texts Biloxi and Numerous Biloxi Phrases, by James Owen Dorsey and John R. Swanton. Bulletin 48. The Choctaw of Bayou Lacomb, St. Tammany Parish, Louisiana, by David I. Bushnell, jr. Bulletin 49. List of the Publications of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Bulletin 50. Preliminary Report on a Visit to the Navaho National Monument, Arizona, by Jesse Walter Fewkes. Bulletin 51. Antiquities of the Mesa Verde National Park: Cliff Palace, by Jesse Walter Fewkes. ILLUSTRATIONS The preparation of the illustrations for the publications of the Bureau and of photographs of Indian types continued in charge of Mr. DeLancey Gill, illustrator, assisted by Mr. Henry Walther. This material consists of 97 Indian por- traits from life, 121 negatives and 29 drawings for the Bureau publications, 15 copies of negatives, and 676 photographic prints. As in the past, special attention was devoted to the photographing of the members of visiting deputations of Indians, since by this means favorable opportunity is afforded for permanently portraying the features of many of the most prominent Indians belonging to the various tribes. LIBRARY The library of the Bureau continued in immediate charge of Miss Ella Leary, librarian. During the year about 1,500 volumes and about 600 pamphlets were received and cata- logued; and about 2,000 serials, chiefly the publications of ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT 23 learned societies, were received and recorded. One thousand five hundred volumes were sent to the bindery, and of these all but 600 had been bound before the close of the fiscal year. In addition to the use of its own library, it was found neces- sary to draw on the Library of Congress from time to time for the loan of about 800 volumes. The library of the Bureau now contains 16,050 volumes, about 11,600 pamph- lets, and several thousand unbound periodicals. Although maintained primarily as a reference library for the Bureau’s staff, its value is becoming more and more known to students not connected with the Smithsonian Institution, who make constant use of it. During the year the library was used also by officers of the executive departments and the Library of Congress. MANUSCRIPTS During the first half of the fiscal year the manuscripts were under the custodianship of Mr. J. B. Clayton, and on his indefinite furlough at the close of 1909 they were placed in charge of Mr. J. N. B. Hewitt, as previously noted. Nineteen important manuscripts were acquired during the year, of which seven are devoted to Chippewa music and are accompanied with the original graphophone records, five relate to the history of the Indians, and seven pertain to Indian linguistics. This enumeration does not include the manuscript contributions to the Handbook of American Indians and the Handbook of American Indian Languages, nor the manuscripts submitted for publication by the members of the Bureau’s regular staff. REMOVAL OF OFFICES Quarters in the Smithsonian building having been assigned by the Secretary for the use of the Bureau, and funds having been provided by the sundry civil act for the removal of the Bureau’s property, the work of transfer was commenced on December 10, 1909, by removing the library from the third floor of the Adams Building, 1333 F street NW., to the eastern gallery of the bird hall on the main floor of the Smithsonian building. The task was made difficult owing to the necessity of removing the old stacks and the books 94 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY at the same time, but order was fairly established in about a fortnight and the library again put in service. Not only is more space for the growing library afforded by the new quarters, but increased light and facilities for research make the new library far superior to the old. The northern half of the gallery was made more attractive by painting and by carpeting with linoleum. It is yet lacking in necessary space, but this difficulty will be overcome when that part of the southeastern gallery still occupied by the National Museum is vacated. The offices and photographic laboratory of the Bureau were removed between December 20 and 31, the former to the second, third, and fourth floors of the north tower of the Smithsonian building and one room (that occupied by the ethnologist-in-charge) on the third floor of the northeastern range; the laboratory to one of the galleries of the old National Museum building, while the stock of publications was given space on the fourth floor of the south tower. Although the quarters of the Bureau are now somewhat scattered, the facilities for work are far superior to those with which the Bureau in its rented offices was obliged to contend, and there is less danger of loss by fire. The cost of the removal, including the taking down and rebuilding of the library bookcases, necessary painting of walls and wood- work, linoleum floor covering, and electric wiring and fixtures, aggregated $1,000, the sum appropriated for the purpose. PROPERTY In addition to the books and manuscripts already referred to, the property of the Bureau consists of a moderate amount of inexpensive office furniture, chiefly desks, chairs, filing cases, and tables, as well as photographic negatives, appara- tus, and supplies, typewriters, phonographs, stationery, and the undistributed stock of its publications. The removal of the Bureau and the assignment of its members to less crowded quarters made it necessary to supply a few addi- tional articles of furniture, especially for the library. The entire cost of the furniture acquired during the fiscal year was $243.17. bo or ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT ADMINISTRATION Pursuant to the plans of the Secretary, the clerical and laboring work of the Bureau was concentrated after the removal to the Smithsonian building by placing the routine correspondence and files, the accounts, the shipment of pub- lications, the care of supplies and other property, and all cleaning and repairs, in immediate charge of the office of the Smithsonian Institution. This plan has served to simplify the administration of the affairs of the Bureau, has prevented duplication of effort, and has resulted in a saving of time and funds. NOTE ON THE ACCOMPANYING PAPER THE accompanying memoir on Tsimshian Mythology, by Dr. Franz Boas, is based on a collection of myths and tales recorded by the late Henry W. Tate, himself a Tsimshian. These stories are classed as of two distinct types—myths and tales—so distinguished by the Tsimshian, as indeed by all the tribes of the North Pacific coast. The incidents nar- rated in the former are believed to have happened when animals appeared in the form of human beings, whereas the tales are historical in character, although they may contain elements of the supernatural. In the myths animals ap- pear as actors, and often incidents are mentioned which describe the origin of some feature of the present world; but incidents of a similar character are by no means absent from the tales, especially in those cases in which animals appear as individual protectors and in which a supposed revelation is used to explain certain customs of the people. Doctor Boas calls attention to the fact “that in the mind of the Indian it is not the religious, ritualistic, or explanatory char- acter of a tale that makes it a myth, but the fact that it per- tains to a period when the world was different from what it is now.” Most important in the mythology of the Tsimshian are the Raven myth and the Transformer myths. The incidents composing the former have a very wide distribution among the tribes of the North Pacific coast; indeed they may be traced from the Asiatic side of Bering Strait eastward and 26 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY southward as far as the southern part of Vancouver Island. The component incidents of the Raven myths comprise origin tales, incidents based on Raven’s voraciousness, and his amorous and other adventures. In the author’s discus- sion of the myths of the Transformer or culture hero of the Tsimshian, he introduces comparisons with the same mytho- logical conception among other tribes of the northwest coast. In order to afford a proper understanding of the people whose mythology is here presented, Doctor Boas follows the first section of his memoir (that devoted to the myths and tales themselves) with a description of the Tsimshian, based on their mythology, a section on Tsimshian society, and a comparative study of Tsimshian mythology. In the appendices are Bellabella and Nootka tales, a summary of comparisons, a list of Tsimshian proper names and place names, a glossary, and an index of references. F, W. Hopes, Ethnologist-in-Charge. ACCOMPANYING PAPER TSEMISELLAIN, MYGRrEKOlL@ Gy. FRANZ BOAS BASED ON TEXTS RECORDED BY HENRY W. TATE 29 PREFACE The following collection of Tsimshian myths was recorded during the last twelve years by Mr. Henry W. Tate, of Port Simpson, British Columbia, in Tsimshian, his native language. Mr. Tate died in April, 1914. The translation of the tales as here presented was made by me, based on a free interlinear rendering by Mr. Tate. A comparison of the form of the tales with those recorded by me on Nass River and on a number of points on the lower Skeena River shows very clearly that Mr. Tate felt it incumbent upon himself to omit some of those traits of the myths of his people that seem inappropriate to us, and there is no doubt that in this respect the tales do not quite express the old type of Tsimshian traditions. A few of the tales also bear evidence of the fact that Mr. Tate had read part of the collection of tales from the Kwakiutl published by myself in conjunction with Mr. George Hunt.!| A few others indicate his familiarity with my collection of tales from Nass River. At the time when I received these tales I called his attention at once to the necessity of keeping strictly to the form in which the traditions are told by the Tsimshian; and by far the greater part of the tales bear internal evidence of being a faithful record of the form in which the traditions are transmitted among the people. Christian influences are evidently very strong among all tribes of northern British Columbia, and a study of the collection of tales recorded by Doctor Swanton among the Haida and Tlingit ? shows also very clearly that the coarseness of their tales has been very much toned down. It is necessary to bear these facts in mind in comparative studies based on the material presented here and on that recorded by Doctor Swanton. I have also had the personal experience that informants were reluctant to express themselves freely in the traditional form, being impressed by the restrictions of what we call proper and improper. The collection here presented evidently contains the bulk of the important traditions of the Tsimshian. A small number of these were recorded by me in 1888, and published in my collections of myths from the North Pacific coast.2 We have from the same linguistic group a collection of Nass River tales.? One of the tales of Mr. Tate’s series was published by me with text in the Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie.2 Another group of these tales was published with text in the Publications of the American Ethnological Society. 1 Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. 1 (1902 and 1905). 2 See Bibliography on pp. 39 ef seq. 31 Oy) PREFACE The series contained in the present volume is given without text, partly for the reason that it has been impossible to revise phonetics and grammar of the texts, partly because there is no immediate prospect of carrying through such a reyision. In the second part of the present paper a description of the life, social organization, and religious ideas and practices, of the people, is given as it appears from their mythology. In the third part I have discussed certain aspects of the social life of the Tsimshian. In the fourth part a discussion is presented of the mythology of the Tsimshian in its bearing upon their general mythical concepts and in relation to the phenomena of dissemination of myths in northwestern America. The music contained in the present volume was reproduced as written by Mr. Tate. I presume no claim for accuracy can be made for it. I am indebted to Mr. C. M. Barbeau for the phonetic equivalents of some Tsimshian names used by Mr. Tate; to Dr. E. Sapir for those of some Nootka names. In an appendix I have given a number of hitherto unpublished Bellabella tales collected by Professor Living- ston Farrand and of Nootka tales collected by Mr. George Hunt. I wish to express my thanks to Miss Harriet A. Andrews for her efficient help in the preparation of the volume, and to Dr. H. K. Haeberlin for assistance in the preparation of the index of quotations. Franz Boas. Columbia University, New York, Summer of 1916. CONTENTS Bibliography. ..--.-- SESS sees ate oe Ras Ecce chat aee Tae oTaareneE INE NS SCoOR SOHO RDEOAE BONES - Inevoce Snel Asdas sneewocteads. cvessacencr Brietid eseriptonotsihe 0 stm shi sin eee = eee eevee eee ea eral TeaRaimanian vm ythis 3-262 Sera cave oe pee oon fever BAe aie aerate else ta 1. Txi/msEm. The Raven legend (notes, p. 567)...-....--------------- (i) Orieinv of, Tx Ams emi see arte ee tae es eee eles eke cer eteeclal< (2) Origin ofidaylight; (motes) E64) o— a seee atel (3) Stone and Elderberry Bush (notes, p. 663).-..--.-------------- (@)eOxrieinyor fire (notes ip 1660) = sess ase ete et aie cies (5) Txi/msem uses the sinews of the tomtit (notes, p. 655).-.....--- (6) ROrioinFefiatides)(motess ps O56) sasee mee ese ate eee ree eee (7) Giant gambles with Gull (notes, p. 653).....-.-- Saree Sais Se (8) Giant obtains the olachen (notes, p. 653) ......----.----------- (9) Giant learns how to cook olachen (notes, p. 653)........-.------- (QO) nGiantiamd they lle coisas ete eerste meee (11) Txi/msem and the siteelhead-salmon (notes, p. 674).....--.------ (12) Txi/msem and Lagobola/ (notes, pp. 666, 721)....-...---------- (13) Txii/msem and the crab (notes, p.721)......-.------------------ (14) Origin of the bullhead (motes, p.685)....-...---.-..------------- (15) Txi/msem frightens away the owners of a whale (notes, p. 687). - (16) Txii’msem finds a beautiful blanket (notes, p. 722)...........-- (17) Txaé/msem and his slave (notes, p. 689)..........----.---------- (18) Txi/msem kills his slave (AOE 1h GW) neko oeesabecessoscunese (19) Fishermen break off Txii’msrm’s jaw (notes, p. 684). Beasts aie: (20) Txaé/’msEm and the hunter (notes, p. 692).-......-...-.-.------ (21) Txi’msem and the children (notes, p. 686)..=.....-....-.------- (22) Txi/msem and the salmon woman (notes, p. 668).......-------- (23) Txi/msem makes war on the south wind (notes, p. 658).-...-..--- (24) Txi/msem makes a girl sick and then cures her (notes, p. 722). -- (25) Txi/’msem pretends to build a canoe (notes, p. 720). .....--.---- (26) -Tx4/msem visits Chief Echo (notes, p. 702).....-.--.----------- (27) Txi/msrm kills Little Pitch (notes, p. 683)....--.--------------- (28) Txi/msem kills Grizzly Bear (notes, p. 680)......-..------------ (29) dixaaneemmallls| Deer (motes; pi 703) asses ae eee (30) Txii’/msEm imitates Chief Seal (notes, pp. 694, 696)...........-. (31) Txii/msem imitates Chief Kingfisher (notes, pp. 694, 696)... ...- (32) Txi’msem imitates-the thrush (notes, pp, 694, 696)............. (33) Txé/msem and Cormorant (notes, p. 678)....------------------- (84) Txa’msem and the Wolves (notes, p. 720),--...--.-------------- (35) Txi/msem and Chief Grouse (notes, p. 716)...-....------------- (36) Txii/msem returns to the Wolves (notes, p. 720)......-.-..------ (37) Txi/msEem invites the monsters (notes, p. 718)...-...-...-------- (38) The further history of Txii’msrm (notes, p. 723) 2. The meeting of the wild animals (notes, pp. 723, 728)..-.....---------- 3. The story of the porcupine-hunter (notes, p. 723) ..........--.------- 4. The story of Grizzly Bear and Beaver (notes, p. 723) ......-.-.------- DES Lonysoltneporcupine (Motes Dilla) eee iaee ee alae eee ee oe GoiBeaverandurorcupine (moter sips (24) esmsseess ese: gers eee ya ce ieesLonvontherd elugel (motes, pila) ee setses ea eee ee eee so 50633°—31 ETH—16——3 33 34 CONTENTS I. Tsimshian myths—Continued. 8. Bs . The four great chiefs of the winds (notes, p. 732)..--....-.------------- "Lheistory/of Natq! (motes sp 734) os: s.aace eee tee eee one . The feast of the mountain goats (notes, p. 738) . The giant devilfish (notes, p. 739) - . The hunter’s wife who became a beaver (notes, p. 739) . The winter hunters and the mosquito (notes, p. 740)...........---.---- Seliive thrumters (GRO GES Nps As 00) eee eee ee ee . The hunter and his wooden wife (notes, p. 744) ‘Plucking! Out) Hiyes:(notes spp: 746; 109) sehen ce ee ee eee . The spider and the widow’s daughter (notes, pp. 747, 750).....--.----- h Prince Snail (Motes Den 14g kl40)) erect ee ia erst aie ee eee . The Otter who married the princess (notes, pp. 747, 751) las PNG eo Ae . The widow and her daughter (notes, pp. 747, 750).-....--.-.--------- . The mink who married a princess (notes, pp. 747, 762)......-- Sane aes . The chief who married the Robin and the Sawhbill Duck (notes, p. 759) . The princess who rejected her cousin (notes, p. 767)..-...-.----------- . The bear who married a woman (notes, p. 747)..-.-.-.--------------- . The prince who was taken away by the spring salmon (notes, p. 770). - » Dhettowniof Chief Peace !(notess mw. W79\ees seca eee secre eee ee eee mSuckine intestines (motes pps 6s4.1S) ee eces eee eee eee ae eee . Burning Leggings and Burning Snowshoes (notes, p. 781) s\Haktula/qn (motes; pi(783) yp cite. s:ro ccorpe a ate aro alos ee a edie . The prince who was deserted (notes, p. 788)-.----------------------=-- . The princess and the mouse (notes, pp. 747, 791) ..------------------- . The young chief who married his cousin (notes, p. 792).---.--.-------- sheystory, of Asdi=wa/l) (notesip.792)!-saseme secs ee a Sea eee eee >» Wax, thersonof Asdi-wad (notes: p71 192)see-s-e ee = oe = eee eee = Dheyblind’Gait-q!afadar(Motesssp i S2p) perience eer eee ee . Locall winter in Grit-qla/°%da; (motes, ps. 829) 2-2 eee ele ee . The drifting log (story of the Eagle Clan) (notes, p. 831)......---.----- . The story of Asdifda and Omen (story of the Eagle Clan) (notes, p. 832). . Explanation of the beaver hat (story of the Eagle Clan) (notes, p. 834). . The Water Being who married the princess (story of the Ganha/da) . Gau’6 (story of the G-ispawadwe/da) (notes, p. 847) . Story of the G-ispawadwe’da (notes, p.855).....-.---.--.------------ . Tsauda and Halus (story of the Wolf Clan) (notes, p. 855) . Story of the Wolf Clan (notes, p. 857) . The Prince and Prince Wolf (story of the Wolf Clan) (notes, pp. 759, Sun and Moon (notes, p. 727) ./..------.--- noe Am/ala’ (Very Dirty) (notes, p. 729) (motes) px884)eo1 th a soe ceeisetane chistemeir eecieee ste Sec ee eneeers . The Story of Part Summer (story of the Ganha/da) (notes, p. 834)...--- . Explanation of the abalone bow (story of the Ganha/da) (notes, p. 835). 5. Story of Gunaxnésemg‘a/d (story of the Ganha‘da) (notes, pp. 747, 835). Story, of the! Ganhatdar (motes ip S40) ee ene nee ease ee eee ence . Git-na-gun-a’ks (story of the Gispawadwe/da) (notes, p. 846).-....--- 48. The four chiefs and Chief Grizzly Bear (story of the G-ispawadwe/da) (Motes pii847)e ee oa = acces sere cee cee epee SEeeee Eee nee ee i) REP rere Samed Mihai ade eT ee ee setae . The ghost who fought with the great shaman (notes, p. 859). ...--..--. - Great; Shaman) (Motessp: 859) sa. sece ese ose eee ee eee . toryaof the shost (Motes; p: (860) lecececs eee se ee eee rea . The man who bound up his wrinkles (notes, p. 860) CONTENTS I. Tsimshian myths—Concluded. 58. The brothers who visited the sky (notes, p. 861)....-...--..---.---.- HO Six hunters|(Mofesmps col) es seeesea eee Peer aes ee a 60) Phe land! Otter(motesspuS62))e-s-ensss eae ses eel 61: ‘The deluge !(motes* pw862) 2 .ss85-- ee = ee Heese hee ane See eae 625 Dhejcanniballl(notes; ps Swoyer c-s-csye aaeea eeeefe et as. 635 Oxiein of thelcannibals!(motes; paso) hase=eseeeeae eee === - 642 (Story; of the! Wolf (Clans (motesispy8G3)pee seen ae eee eee ae = l= @- - Supplement: Phnee warital es seeeee sa eeeee ee as ae eet bts alee ay a= (1) Fights between the G'i-spa-x-l4/°ts and the Grit-dzi’/° .........-.- (2) War between the Tsimshian and the Tlingit.................-.-- (3) War between the Haida and the G‘i-spa-x-l4/°ts...........-...-. {I. Description of the Tsimshian, based on their mythology. .....--.-.....---- Imi nA MNO Ape seodeseSocaesbobss ohne on5 S904 -eod geen ceca to2 eae eed one Towns, houses, household goods, and manuiactures..........---.-------- Dresstand ormament. 2... <2-2e5-- Saga Sate ese eee tek oe neces Hishine hunting and food-catherinos= sees se se aisle sees ete role Hooda. eee cs faa oe es oe ae oc os ot Se Se Sad pe eee eee besa oteyt Mave leet ciatese tae wie e oe os Sele ale ci eae NAGE? ee Sete aes Sasc Playingvandipamblintes 3.2 2c2 scl... Ss ape eee Seite Sere se) =e = = Quarrelatand ware). cscs casos << Soe ere ee eae see Bee Oe osiemels ne: Social organizations to-ae-s-c1c sae eeep eS qatar oe Rs ees: Hamil valitew. oes cke sac secin = Ses ee tate Ae aS at eee nioe ketene Chiefsvattendantss slaves, council(.7-- ee. ssaSeteet tee yet = ee eee WOSItOrs anaes tival Seam coerce caste seam ee Mage ne eee OE rte et Srcter = Marnaceian dd catheter cee a-c ta se coe ae ieeee ornate eine oct Saale Eihicalveoncepts:andvemotional lites sa ee ne eee ae ee ae eer Reliciousjand magical tpracticess-2 sees 26 aan eee tae apie ee Gurrentibelieisss ste et o- aecicietoces « aieic os cacinaid Pes eis ee eres Mrythtcalfconcepta ses acceecsass cae aise cre ae a eens ciate re ag Shad Ee Shamanism...-.-. Fh EE EE et Hn ek AM tee Bes ee Rae eee Re PE) A MAE RSiMmshian society ney tetas emi a a ee ie ee ea re Oe i Soclalkorganizatl ons! nee aes yaaa see ae hc on See See EE = Comparative notes on the social organization of the Tsimshian.-...-....--- Birth marmiareandid Caithias nesses ase as ioe race seer ee oe 1B a ee aes Se cho Ai EPA EG ce eae ee 9 ee ee Pee A Wiatee seeecse cance nis smi ane a aie Acs ae Seat eee eee serie ce eee Oe os Mhetpo thatch ree ec ccc settee a= ........-.:c--2.:-..--2-.-- 867 ADs alloys 2 area ssa aes cea es eens 8 Oe eee eS 868 Growing Up Like One Who Has A Grandmother...................-- 869 ShesWho HasrAulabret OnlOneisideteaseeseee sees eee eee 870 Mie: Squinreleisaqains sien Sees Meh ase. ee eee ne ee 870 Mare wikek ls Se esse. Sgro ase dees een Aa ice Ne Aen es ee 870 Dheispinit ofsleeps=555.51-G.ce ee = 2 se ees ee eee eee 871 The owl x- Seh SNe Mise fs SOS PAE Nocigs aS ee ee ee ee 871 The boys who became supernatural beings. ..............--.------- 871 Concluslon-2.25 2s Hesse sa ee 2 SA ote ya Tecate See tenet ane 872 Appendiscules Bellabellavand Nootka taleses-s. + nee-ee eer saeco eee 883 Appendix ew SUMUM any, On COMpATIsONs amet see see eee eee aaa 936 Appendix III. List of Tsimshian proper names and place names..........---- 959 Appendix ah VaGlossanyewws sence aocttsnetee eae ss oe cea ae eee ee ee eee aes 967 Appendix V. Index to references. ........-...-.-.---- Jag ssasdaceosebhsosses0- 980 PLATE FIGURE wm © Pp Le Ol ILLUSTRATIONS Page House'attRort Simpson=:. ss--s-o0s- shee eae oe oo eeeceeeaea- es) 006 Houses'at) Port Simpsom-fa2.- ass so2a eee co sone ASeete ees 506 House-posts at Gvits!ala/ser (after G. T. Emmons)......-..------- 506 [Rear elevation omhouseeccese ceo creer cee een ae atee eee 46 Blsniol houses. Ue 8 A Ee 47 Hrontiele vation! Obousessseeerec ce cer aaa Senet Cees ae 48 Stone’inanie See os RS ee ee nee eae ene ee Mie SOE SS 49 Stoned ze iss: Fs ce ae Pee ae eee ey are eae. 49 iBoxsmaderofibentiwood st we cses sete eases eee ee ee eee ae 50 arge’box for keepingblamketsa-e esses ese areca neato ee eee 51 MaGod stray ssecc < ae strc ease oe Se se fe ee eye ee met =e 52 @edarsbarksmigt-sSaetcs sss sere eciiee Seve scan ice oer 52 Paintedshatamad ¢lotispruce rootessss-ee= see a ee eee 52 al but thook 7s see ee ete ad By, Pee ae ae Le ra 53 Bissell SaaS ers ee ee cre ae oo a sae ae a ree oe So em 53 BO Wie ee le acpi tape oe ee er role ae See re BN op ih eee TA Aen. ie 53 SLOT eMOM tere eee eee ee Te nn eT eae les foe ee eA 54 Pamntediskimiblankete sess cere eres see eee eee eee meee ee a4 Legging with porcupine-quill embroidery.........2.....---.----- 55 Painted apron with embroidery 55 Legging with porcupine-quill embroidery ornamented with puffin DORK Esa acenn cee Soca e ease Seine comin Sens See clean 56 Spoon maderof:mountain-goat horns---.2-2-----2--.-22-+-s26--25-= 56 Ladle made of mountain-sheep horn.............----..---------- 57 argecopperiplaten saostics cen Sons Nene eee eee ee ees 57 Magksinlardiwithshaliotisishell:-.aee ene esas sere see ae eer 539 Head mask attached to frame set with sea-lion bristles, and with trailer ornamented with weasel skins ..................--.----- 540 Chietsrattle...5.ce2 ee See baie = oe oe ee ee ee Oe ee ae 541 37 Ve Wl ag | é ar. = g aren et da a. ” i ; Me 3 yt se ag Oe” 7 ; lua? stabs ayer tt oh ; t =e Ses ; ; inte 1 Mae | on ae Sirah WCET i : ii totlevale dot SR a f conn bite et Dd i ha tae Ao | : i : Thwiye tat aS hara wolf i : ; i a iM te Pitt wireaal r 7 = WED yl is 7 in ft waley sd smi ; : As haiaiwt i ititt , f (‘AY We { oa RN al Ly sa Pye cur jA ai hey | fd Iwerntn'l f mt ‘ ; ‘ } | al u terre if pred TL 4 iJ i veyty, f a? dred : ia { 7 i | ! s tye eB eetaiee ; : : ong pil aA Z i : ! y : bite) . 1s F 5 : * ‘ * ry a BIBLIOGRAPHY Apvam, LronHarp. Stammesorganisation und Hiuptlingstum der Haida und Tsim- shian. Zeitschrift fiir vergleichende Rechtswissenschaft, Xxx, 1913, pp. 161-268. Boas, Franz. 1. Fourth to Seventh, and Ninth to Twelfth Reports on the North- Western Tribes of Canada. Reports of British Association for the Advancement of Science: 1888, pp. 233-255; 1889, pp. 797-893; 1890, pp. 553-715; 1891, pp. 407— 449; 1894, pp. 453-463; 1895, pp. 522-595; 1896, pp. 569-591; 1898, pp. 628-688. 2. Die Tsimshian. Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, xx, 1888, pp. 398-405. 3. Notes on the Eskimo of Port Clarence, Alaska. Journal of American Folk- lore, viz, 1894, pp. 205-208. 4. Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Kiiste Amerikas. Berlin, 1895. 5. The social organization and the secret societies of the Kwakiutl Indians. Report of U.S. National Museum for 1895, pp. 311-738. Washington, 1897. ——— 6. The decorative art of the Indians of the North Pacific coast. Bulletin of American Museum of Natural History, 1x, pp. 123-176. New York, 1897. 7. Tsimshian texts. Bulletin 27 of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Wash- ington, 1902. 8. and Hunt, Grorer. Kwakiutl texts.—I. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, m1. Leiden and New York, 1902 and 1905. 9. and Hunt, Georce. Kwakiutl texts—II. Jbid., x. Leiden and New York, 1906. 10. Eine Sonnensage der Tsimschian. Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie,- xu, pp. 776-797. Berlin, 1908. : ——— ll. The Kwakiutl of Vancouver Island. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, v, pp. 301-522. Leiden and New York, 1909. 12. Kwakiutl tales. Columbia University Contributions to Anthropology, 1. Leiden and New York, 1910. 13. Tsimshian texts, new series. Publications of the American Ethnological Society, ut. Leiden and New York, 1912. -——- 14. Traditions of the Ts’Ets’a/ut. Journal of American Folk-Lore, 1x, pp. 257-268; x, pp. 35-48. -—— 15. The mythology of the Bella Coola Indians. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1, pp. 25-127. Leiden, 1898. ——— 16. Chinook texts. Bulletin 20 of the Bureau of Ethnology, Washington, 1894. —— 17. Kathlamet texts. Bulletin 26 of the Bureau of American Ethnology, Wash- ington, 1901. CHapmMaAN, Rev. Joun W. 1. Notes on the Tinneh Tribe of Anvik, Alaska. Congres International des Américanistes, XV Session, 1, pp. 1-38. Quebec, 1907. 2. Ten’a texts and tales. Publications of the American Ethnological Society, vi. Leiden and New York, 1914. Dawson, Georce M. 1. Report on the Queen Charlotte Islands, 1878. Appendix A, On the Haida Indians of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Geological Survey of Canada, Reports of Progress for 1878-1879. Montreal, 1880. —— 2. Notes on the Indian tribes of the Yukon district and adjacent northern portion of British Columbia. Annual Report of the Geological Survey of Canada, 1887, pp. 191B-213B. Deans, James. Tales from the totems of the Hidery. Archives of the International Folk-Lore Association, u. .Chicago, 1899. 39 40 BIBLIOGRAPHY Dorsry, G. A. The geography of the Tsimshian Indians. American Antiquarian, 1897, pp. 276-282. Emmons, GeorGE T. 1. The basketry of the Tlingit. Memoirs of the American Museum of Natural History, ut, pp. 229-277. New York, 1903. 2. The Chilkat blanket. Ibid., pp. 329-401. New York, 1903. 3. The Kitselas of British Columbia. American Anthropologist, 1. s., x1v, 1912, pp. 467-471. 4. The Tahltan Indians. University of Pennsylvania, The Museum, Anthro- pological Publications, tv, pp. 1-120. Erman, A. Ethnographische Wahrnehmungen und Erfahrungen an den Kiisten des Berings-Meeres. Zeitschrift fiir Ethnologie, 11, 1870, pp. 295-327, 369-393: m1, 1871, pp. 149-175, 205-219. Farranp, Liyrxeston. Traditions of the Chilcotin Indians. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, 1, pp. 1-54. New York, 1900. Gorper, A. F. Tlingitmyths. Journal of American Folk-Lore, xx, 1907, pp. 290-295 (a translation, without credit, of Vemiaminoff’s Tlingit Tales[see ERMAN, above] ). Harpisty, Witutam L. The Loucheux Indians. Annual Report of the Smithsonian Institution for the year 1866, pp. 311-320. Washington, 1872. Hi1-Tour, C. 1. “Sqaktktquaclt,’’ or the benign-faced, the Oannes of the Ntlaka- pamuq, British Columbia. olk-Lore, x, 1899, pp. 195-216. 2. Studies of the Indians of British Columbia. Report of the sixty-ninth meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 497-584. Dover, 1899. 3. Notes on the Sk’qo’mic of British Columbia. Report of the seventieth meeting of the British Association for the Advancement of Science, pp. 472-549. Bradford, 1900. ———4. Report on the ethnology of the Si/ciatl of British Columbia. Journal of the Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland, xxxtv, 1904, pp. 20-91. 5. Report on the Stsre/lis and Sk‘au/‘lits tribes of the Halkome/lem division of the Salish of British Columbia. Jbid., pp. 311-376. 6. Report on the ethnology of the Stlatlim# of British Columbia. Jbid., xxxv, 1905, pp. 126-218. 7. Report on the ethnology of the southeastern tribes of Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Jbid., xxxvu, 1907, pp. 306-374. Jerre, Rev. Pire Jures. 1. L’Organisation sociale des Ten’as. Congres Inter- national des Américanistes, Xv session, 1, pp. 395-409. Quebec, 1907. —— 2. On Ten’a felk-lore. Journal of the Anthropological Institute, xxxvm, pp. 298-367. 1908. Krause, Auret. Die Tlinkit-Indianer. Jena, 1885. Like, Fropor. Voyage autour du monde, 1826-1829. Partie historique. 3 vols. Paris, 1835. Mayne, R. ©. Four years in British Columbia and Vancouver Island. London, 1862. Netson, E. W. The Eskimo about Bering Strait. Eighteenth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 3-518. Petirot, Emre. Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouesi. Paris, 1886. SHorripce, Louis and Fuorence. Notes on the Chilkat, The Museum Journal, University of Pennsylvania, tv, pp. 81-103. 1913. Swanton, Jonn R. 1. Haida textsand myths. Bulletin 29 of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, 1905. 2. Contributions to the ethnology of the Haida. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, v, part1. Leiden and New York, 1905. 3. Haida texts—Masset dialect. Ibid., x, part 1. Leiden and New York, 1908. BIBLIOGRAPHY 41 Swanton, Joun R. 4. Social condition, beliefs, and linguistic relationship of the Tlingit Indians. Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology, pp. 391-485. Washington, 1908. 5. Tlingit myths and texts. Bulletin 39 of the Bureau of American Ethnology. Washington, 1909. Teir, JAMes. 1. Notes on the Tahltan Indians of British Columbia. Boas Anni- versary Volume, p. 348. New York (G. E. Stechert), 1906. ——— 2. Traditions of the Thompson River Indians of British Columbia. Memoirs of the American Folk-Lore Society, v1. 1898. c -—— 3. Mythology of the Thompson Indians. Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vu, pp. 218 et seg. Leiden, 1912. ——4. The Shuswap. Ibid., u, pp. 443-789. Leiden, 1909. —— 5. The Lillooet Indians. Jbid., u, pp. 193-300. Leiden, 1906. WittoucuBy, C. ©. A new type of ceremonial blanket from the northwest coast. American Anthropologist, n. s., x11, 1910, pp. 1-10. ALPHABET CESENE S ones short a with a strong leaning toward é, the strength of which depends largely upon the following consonant. Before m, n, w. the a is fairly pure, like the continental a. Before J, t, k*, it is almost é@. (Ree mee es caer long sound, always produced with retracted lips,and therefore more like @ in German Bar. phe eka distinctly sonant, but more strongly articulated than in English. | I SOE EE obscure, weak e, as in flower. Care cos cee continental e with glide toward continental 7. 1 SE SEE chs distinctly sonant, anterior palatal, with affricative glide toward y, more strongly articulated than English g. iets dese eee distinctly sonant, middle palatal, like English g in good, but more strongly articulated. Opse ..the analogous velar sound. | EE Ae. 3p as in English. Uae ae pre continental 7. , SERN eee oases open 7, as in hill. ace ..surd and fortis of g°. ith so surd and fortis of g. GOH ete ee tee surd and fortis of g. lee ..sonant 7, with full glottal articulation and long continued. US ase Rae the same, with great stress of articulation. MM soon carmen as In English. Mees ee eaa ones the same, with great stress of articulation. : (Moe R aces oaeS with fuller glottal articulation than in English. Ml Sere cepa asi the same, with great stress of articulation. OVO Sena as in note, short and long. Ol secretions like o in German voll. Gee sean en ayes like aw in law. p, p! ..surd and fortis of b. Tse atic Sais a very weak, strongly sonant, middle palatal trill. Ore ert ee nc the tip of the tongue is turned up and touches the palate just behind the alveoli. The teeth are closed, and the air escapes laterally. The acoustic effect is intermediate between s and sh t, t!.....-.....-surd and fortis of d. Dp Tene . -like 00 in root, short and long. w.. ..as in English, but more strongly sonant. Wheater acess the same, with greater stress of articulation. Lea ee ee velar spirant, like ch in German Bach. Yorn etme as in year, but more strongly sonant, with full breath. Oleanee cases. the same, with greater stress of articulation. EB ERE et eres affricative sonant, surd, and fortis, with purer s sound than the s described before. 0 42 indicates parasitic vowels which accompany some short and all long vowels. These are weak glottal stops with the timbre of the preced- ing vowel. 4°, for instance, sounds almost like é4 (where 4 indicates a very weak a), 2° like i, @ like ey. After short vowels, the sound resembles a weak glottal stop. TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY By Franz Boas BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN? CULTURE AREAS The North Pacific coast is inhabited by a number of distinct tribes, whose culture is fairly uniform. We may distinguish three groups of tribes—the northern group, which embraces the Tlingit, the Haida, and the Tsimshian; the central group, which includes the Kwakiutl tribes and the Bellacoola; and the southern group, to which belong the Coast Salish and the Nootka. Among the last-named group the characteristic traits of North Pacific coast culture are weakest, while in the first group they are most strongly developed. In the following pages I shall give a very brief description of the material culture of the tribe, confining myself, however, to those points that may help give the proper background of the life to which the myths and tales refer. A fuller discussion of social customs, social organization, and religion, as well as a description of the life of the people as it appears in their tales and traditions, will be given later (see p. 393). NAME The Tsimshian, who are the subject of the following sketch, take their name from the Skeena River, on which they dwell. In their own language this river is called A-sia’n, and they call themselves Tslam-sia'n. Ts!em- is a nominal prefix, signifying “the inside of a thing;” the initial k- of A-sia’n is a prefix indicating place names; so that the word would mean “Inside Of The Skeena River.’ The loca- tive prefix k- occurs in the names of almost all the rivers of this area, asin K-lo’snms (‘‘Nass River’’). The Tlingit of Alaska call the Tsimshian 7s/dtsrz’n (a phonetic modification of the word Ts!nim-sia’n, m being absent in Tlingit), the Bellacoola call them zlzz’ma-, the Bellabella designate them as (we’tzla (“Northerners”’). The Haida call each tribe by its own proper name. 1 The notes on the Tsimshian contained in the Fifth Report on the North-Western Tribes of Canada (Boas 1, 1889), pp. 797-893, and those givenin the Eleventh Report (Boas 1, 1896), pp. 580 et seqg., are em- bodied in their entirety in the following description. It also contains the notes on the Nisqa’¢ (so far as they were not reprinted in Boas 5, pp. 651-660, 733) given in the Tenth Report (Boas 1, 1895), pp. 569- 583. (See Bibliography, pp. 39 et seq.) Wherever the data given here differ from the earlier descriptions, the latter are superseded. 43 44 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 The Tsimshian call the southern Tlingit G:id-gane’dz; the Hai’da, Haida; the Xa‘isla (the most northern branch of the Kwakiutl tribes), Gitlama’t; the G:imanoi’tx (the branch of this tribe living on Gardner Channel), Git-lé’°p; the Bellabella, Wutsda’. MatTEerIAL CULTURE The Tsimshian, who belong to the northern group of tribes, inhabit the valleys of Nass and Skeena Rivers and the channels and islands southward as far as Milbank Sound. They are fishermen, who subsist partly on the salmon that ascend the rivers of the coast in great num- bers; partly on deep-sea fishery, which is prosecuted on the codfish and halibut banks off the coast. At the same time they hunt seals and sea lions, and use the whales that drift ashore. The people of the villages along the river courses and deep fiords of the mainland are also energetic hunters, who pursue particularly the mountain goat, but also the bear and the deer. Vegetable diet is not by any means unimportant. Large quantities of berries are picked in summer and preserved for winter use in the form of cakes. The sap of the hemlock and some species of kelp are also dried and stored away for use in the winter season. The olachen is sought for eagerly, and early in spring all the subdivisions of the Tsimshian tribe assemble on Nass River, which is the principal olachen river of the northern part of the coast. This fish is caught particularly on account of its oil, which is tried out and kept in boxes. Mr. Duncan, the well-known missionary to the Tsimshian, gives in one of his letters the following description of the preparation of olachen, as witnessed by him at Nass River:1 “Tn a general way,’’ he says, “I found each house had a pit near it, about three feet deepand six or eight inchessquare, filled with the little fish. I found some Indians making boxes to put the grease in, others cutting firewood, and others (women and children) stringing the fish and hanging them up to dry in the sun; while others, and they the greater number, were making fish grease. The process is as follows: Make a large fire, plant four or five heaps of stones.as big as your hand in it; while these are heating fill a few baskets with rather stale fish, and get a tub of water into the house. When the stones are red-hot bring a deep box, about 18 inches square (the sides of which are all one piece of wood), near the fire, and put about half a gallon of the fish into it and as much fresh water, then three or four hot stones, using wooden tongs. Repeat the doses again, then stir the whole up. Repeat them again, stir again; take out the cold stones and place them in the fire. Proceed in this way until the box is nearly full, then let the whole cool, and commence skimming off the grease. While this is cooking, prepare another boxful in the same way. In doing the third, use, instead of fresh water, the liquid from the first box. On coming to the refuse of the boiled fish in the box, which is still pretty warm, let it be put into a rough willow- basket; then let an old woman, for the purpose of squeezing the liquid from it, lay it on a wooden grate sufficiently elevated to let a wooden box stand under; then let ‘ Quoted by Mayne, pp. 254-255, from a letter to the Church Missionary Society. EE oreo BOAS] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 45 her lay her naked chest on it and press it with all her weight. On no account must a male undertake to do this. Cast what remains in the basket anywhere near the house, but take the liquid just saved and use it over again, instead of fresh water. The refuse must be allowed to accumulate, and though it will soon become putrid and change into a heap of creeping maggots and give out a smell almost unbearable, it must not be removed. The filth contracted by those engaged in the work must not be washed off until all is over, that is, until all the fish are boiled, and this will take about two or three weeks. All these plans must be carried out without any addi- tion or change, otherwise the fish will be ashamed, and perhaps never come again. So,’’ concludes Mr. Duncan, ‘think and act the poor Indians.”’ Clams are dug on the beaches and are dried for winter use. This work devolves on the women; in olden times it was done by women and slaves. Mayne (p. 254) describes their preparation as follows: When a large quantity of these clams has been collected, they make a pit, eight or ten feet deep; a quantity of firewood is put in the bottom, and it is then filled up with clams; over the top is laid more firewood, and the whole is covered in with fir branches. In this way they are boiled for a day or more, according to circumstances. When cooked, they are taken out of the shells, spitted on sticks, three or four feet long, and exposed to the sun to dry, after which they are strung on strips of the inner cypress bark or pliable reeds, and put away for the winter store. When the Indians return to their winter villages they are strung along the beams, forming a sort of inner roof. A favorite dish is snow mixed with oil. This dish is described by Mayne (p. 252) as follows: The Indians have a favorite dish at their feasts, which appears to answer to the carva of the South Sea Islands. They bring canoe-loads of snow and ice, and with these ingredients are mixed oil, and molasses if they have it: the slaves and old women being employed to beat it up, which they do in large bowls, until it assumes the appearance of whipped cream, when all attack the mess with their long wooden spoons. [Pp. 255-256] The sea-cucumber, so well known in the South Seas as the Trepang or Béche de Mer (Holothuria tubulosa) is . . . boiled and eaten fresh. . . . The lichen (Z. jubatus) which grows on the pines, is also prepared for food. Twigs, bark, etc., being cleared from it, it is steeped in water till it is quite soft; it is then wrapped up in grass and leaves to prevent its being burnt, and cooked between hot stones. It takes 10 or 12 hours cooking, and when done, while still hot, it is pressed into cakes. Berries when fresh are eaten in a way we should hardly appreciate— viz, with seal oil! Hunters used bow and arrow and the spear, and in traveling over mountains they carry a long mountain stick, provided at the tip with a horn of the mountain goat. It seems that in former times it was difficult to lay by enough food for the whole year, and there seem to have been periods of famine toward the end of the winter before the appearance of the olachen. This feature is quite prominent in the tales of the Tsimshian, much more so than in the tales of the neighboring tribes. The industries of the Indians are based to a great extent on the occurrence of the yellow and red cedars. The wood of the red cedar, which is easily split, is worked into planks, which serve for building 46 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (wri. ANN. 31 houses, and which are utilized in a great variety of ways by the native woodworker. The bark of the red cedar is also used extensively for making matting, baskets, and certain kinds of clothing. Strong ropes are made of twigs of the cedar, while others are made of twisted cedar bark. Formerly blankets were woven of the inner bark of the yellow cedar, which was shredded and softened by careful beating, and then woven by a simple method of twining. The wool of mountain goats was also spun and woven. It may be said that the salmon and cedar are the foundations of Northwest coast culture. ; Part of the year the Indians live in permanent villages. These villages consist of large wooden houses built of cedar planks and arranged in a row facing the sea. A street is leveled in front of the 4 by, ZA pra TUTE OTH TTI TTDI TTT APT OOTP Fic. 1. Rear elevation of house. houses, and the canoes are placed on runways on the beach in front of the village. Tradition tells of villages of several rows of houses. In olden times the houses of the Tsimshian were of moderate size, probably about thirty feet square. The following description is based on the observation of a few houses seen in the village of the G-it-qxa’ta in 1894:! While the house of the Haida? generally has on each side of the central line three heavy beams which support the roof, the house of the Tsimshian and of the Kwakiutl has only one pair of heavy beams, one on each side of the doorway. In the Kwakiutl house these. two beams, which rest on heavy posts, stand no more than six feet apart.? In the houses of the Tsimshian and Nisqa’* (figs. 1-3) they stand about halfway between the central line and the lateral 1 Boas 1, 1896, pp. 580-483. 2 See G. M. Dawson, Report of Progress, Geological Survey of Canada, 1878-79 (pls. III, IV, V). 3 The Social Organization and the Secret Societies of the Kwakiutl Indians (Rep. U. S. Nat. Mus. for 1895, pp. 316 et seq.). ee BOAS] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 47 walls. The house of the Tlingit, as represented by Shotridge,' is very much like the Tsimshian house, except in minor points. The posts are still farther apart than in the Tsimshian house. This arrangement necessitates that provision be made for a ridge beam. The heavy beams B rest on the uprights U, which are seldom carved. On top of the beams three or four supports S are laid, on which rests the ridge beam R. The latter consists of two parts, leaving a space in the middle for the smoke hole. Sometimes, but not regularly, two additional beams R’ rest on these supports. In a few cases the central ridge beam is then supported by a smaller support 8’. The lower end Fic. 2. Plan of house. of the roof is either arranged as shown in figures 1 and 2 or as indi- cated in figure 3. In the former case the roof supports are separate from the walls; beams V are laid on the uprights C, and the roof boards rest on the beams R, B, and V. In the latter case (fig. 3) the corner post P is connected with the rear corner post by a square beam which supports the lower ends of the roof boards. The walls of the old houses consist of horizontal planks of great width. The thick base planks of the front, rear, and sides (figs. 2, 3) are grooved, and the 1 Shotridge, pp. 86 et seq. 48 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 thinner planks are let into these grooves. The two top moldings of the front are also thick planks, which are grooved. Over the door D is a short, heavy plank, on which rests a single thinner vertical plank. The construction of the back may be seen in figure 1. Sometimes the houses are built on steep banks, so that only the rear half is built on the ground. In this case a foundation of heavy cedar trees is built. A short log is placed with one end in the bank, the butt end standing out toward the beach, where the side wall is to be. Another log is placed in the same manner where the second side wall is to be. A third heavy log is placed over the butts of the two projecting logs. Then two more logs are put on top of the first pair with their ends in the bank, and thus a foundation is built up to the level of the embankment. This is covered with a platform, and the house is Fic. 3. Front elevation of house. built about eight or ten feet back from its outer edge, so that the platform forms the front portion of the floor of the house as well as a summer seat in front of the house door. The fireplace was in the center of the house, just under the smoke hole. In the daytime the people lived on the floor of the house. The seat of the house owner was in the rear of the fire. Guests used to sit by the side of the fire. The beds were arranged on a platform that ran all around the walls. Provisions were also kept partly on this platform, partly on shelves, which were suspended from the beams and rafters. Sometimes young people had their bedrooms on such shelves. According to tradition there were some houses that had more than one platform, and in which the floors were quite deeply excavated. The building of a house of this type required considerable skill in woodworking. In former times the Indians felled large trees by 1 For detailed descriptions of the industries of the Coast Indians see Boas 11. a ———————— BOAS] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 49 means of stone chisels, stone axes, and fire; but the planks used for house building were usually split off from a live tree by cutting deep notches into the trunk at appropriate distances and then splitting off pieces from the tree by means of large wedges, which were driven with long-handled stone mauls (fig. 4); while on the southern part of the coast hand hammers were used. After the planks had been split off, they were smoothed by means of stone or bone adzes (fig. 5). For very fine work the process of smoothing was continued until the surface of the plank had reached a high degree of finish. The planks and boards were finally polished off with grit stones and dogfish skin. The art of mak- ing household utensils from thin planks of this kind had reached a high degree of perfection. The method pursued was that of kerfing the planks and of bending, after having subjected the wood to asteam bath. In this manner the sides of boxes and buckets were made. These were fastened to a wooden bottom either by means of pegs or by sewing with twisted cedar twigs (fig. 6). Water-tight boxes were secured by calking the joints. Large boxes of this type ‘(fig. 7) were used for storing provisions, blankets, ete.; smaller water-tight boxes, for cooking food, the box being filled with water, which was then heated by means of red-hot stones. Food trays (fig. 8) were made of large blocks of wood hollowed out by means of chisel and ax and finished with a crooked knife, the handle of which fitted the hand nicely. One of the best prod- ucts of the woodwork of the natives of this region is the dugout canoe, which is made of cedar, hollowed. out, and worked down to an even thickness. After the cedar has been hol- lowed out, it is steamed and then spread, and thus large canoes are made of graceful form and capable of withstanding a heavy sea. The basketry of the Tsimshian is not elaborate. Simple or twilled woven matting is made of wide strips of cedar bark (fig. 9). Water- 50633°—31 ErH—16——4 Fig. 4. Stone maul. Fic. 5. Stone adze. 50 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 tight baskets and hats are woven of twined spruce-root work (fig. 10; see also illustrations of such basketry in Emmons 1). To a certain extent spruce-root basketry takes the place of the small boxes which are exclusively used on the southern part of the coast for carrying water. Baskets made of woven cedar bark are largely used for stor- age of provisions, for keeping blankets, for box covers, for holding spoons, and for berrying. For fishing, hooks and harpoons are employed. For halibut fishing a tackle is used with a crosspiece made of a light twig, to each end of which a hook is tied (fig. 11). After the fish is landed it is killed i Fic. 6. a, Box made of bent wood. b, Front of box. with a carved club (fig. 12). A great variety of forms of fish traps are found, in which large quantities of salmon are secured during the summer months. Traps are also used for securing land game. Small fur-bearing animals, as well as larger game, as bears and deer, are trapped in this manner. The bow (fig. 13) is of simple construction. It is made of a single piece of yew wood, with slightly curved back, flat belly, and narrow, round grip. The arrows are carried in a wooden quiver. Arrows with detachable heads were used for hunting sea otter, while land game was hunted with arrows having bone points. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN Vit Hi GA \\f)| ZA Fic. 7. a, Large box for keeping blankets. b, Front of box i } b 52 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ern ann. 31 It would seem that in olden times, practically all along the coast, the art of stone chipping was not in use, while rubbed slate points and pecked,and battered stone hammers and stone mortars (fig. 14) were common. While the men pro- cure all the animal food except shellfish, the women gather berries and dig roots and shellfish. On Queen Charlotte Islands, and perhaps also among the Tsimshian, tobacco was raised in olden times in gardens cleared near the villages. The tobacco was not smoked, but chewed mixed with calcined shells. In olden times the dress of the * Tsimshian consisted of a breech- clout, over which was worn a blanket of fur or of dressed skin. The front edges of blankets made of dressed skins were painted (fig. 15). Dressed skin was also embroidered with porcupine quills (figs. 16, 18), although this art was not as prominent among the coast tribes as it was among the Indians of the interior. Wealthy people used expensive Fic. 8. Food tray. Fic. 9. Cedar-bark mat. Fic. 10. Painted hat made of spruce root. furs for making their blankets, while the poor used marmot skins. On ceremonial occasions—that is, at festivals and potlatches—the BOAS] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 53 leaders dressed much more elaborately. A painted or embroidered apron (fig. 17) and leggings (figs. 16, 18) decorated in the same manner were added to the blanket. The Tsimshian and Tlingit also wore ornamental blankets of mountain-goat wool.t| Aprons and leggings were made of similar material. The apron and leggings seem to have been parts of the ceremonial costume worn at dances rather than ordinary dress The children of tie cohen were tat- tooed on the back of the hands and on the chest with designs representing their crests. The helix of the ear was perforated four times; and large ear-ornaments made of long tassels of wool, with square pieces of abalone shell attached to them, were worn pendant from these perforations. Teeth of the killer whale were also worn as ear- ornaments. The septum of the nose was perforated, and a horizontal bar of bone, or a pendant made of abalone shell or of the tooth of the killer whale, was worn as a nose- ornament. The lower lips of women were perforated in the center, and labrets were worn in this hole. Young girls wore a thin nail Fig. 12. Fish club. with a head on the inner side. With increasing age the size of the labret was increased, and old women wore large wooden plugs inlaid with abalone shell. It is said that noble girls used to bite on a green- stone pebble in order to wear down their incisors. Fic. 13. Bow. Weapons were, besides bow and arrow, dagger, spear, and club. Warriors protected their bodies by means of armor made of rods or slats and a loose outer armor of heavy hide. All of these were painted 1See Emmons 2. 54 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 with the crest designs of the wearer. Greaves were worn over the shins, and the head was covered with a helmet. Household utensils, canoes, and practically all objects utilized by the natives, are elaborately decorated. This is true particularly of their woodwork. The style of decoration is very char- acteristic. Only animal mo- tives are applied, each design generally consisting of a com- bination of various parts of an animal’s body, whose forms, although highly con- ventionalized, are easily rec- ognized. The conventional type of this art is based on the principle, so common in the art of children and of primitive people, of representing what appear to the artist as the essential parts of the animal, with little regard to their arrangement in space. This method of representation is developed here to a high artistic perfection. In general, the artist endeavors Fic. 14. Stone mortar. Bz yyy Ly Yop yeni Vig. 15. Painted skin blanket. by distortion and dissection to fit the whole animal as nearly as possible into the decorative field. This is frequently accom- plished by splitting the animal in two, and by representing aor aati BOAS] . BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 55 the two halves spread out; but many other processes are used. The forms are expressed in curved lines, and there is a tendency to utilize oval fields, which may be elaborated by a group of concentric or Fic. 16. Legging with porcupine-quill embroidery. almost concentric elliptical or rounded designs. These peculiar designs resemble eyes; and the Northwest coast art may be said to Fic. 17. Painted apron With embroidery. be characterized by the prevalence of the eye motive. The eye is used with great frequency to indicate the joints of the body, the original idea being evidently a representation of the ball-and-socket joint, the 56 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 curved outline of the figure representing the socket, the inner field the ball. These Bele are done both in carving and painting, Se : Uy GE \\ nN % WW. (A SS. Si bs mA G AE Se ee 0 ae TE Tas ATT TPCT : = v An \ E : C7 i ,. Sra Te ela f an i) Lay na Fig. 18. Legging with poreupine-quill embroidery ornamented with puffin beaks. SS ie A al Ss — J SS y qe = 2 = LIS = \ 3 EE 5 = < Zz : vs B The colors applied are principally black and red, although green and blue also occur. Among the Tsimshian and Tlingit the same kinds of designs are used on blankets woven of mountain-goat wool and cedar bark. The animals used for ornamenta- tion are almost throughout those which play an important part in the mythology and in the beliefs connected with the social organization of the tribe. It is remarkable that geometrical designs are practi- cally absent. Only among the Tlingit, where elabo- rate decoration of spruce-root basketry occurs, does a highly developed geometrical decorative art accom- pany the more realistic art before described. It seems probable, however, that this art has been introduced through contact of the coast tribes with the tribes of the interior. The decoration resembles the designs used in the porcupine-quill embroidery of Athapascan tribes, and is executed in basketry G by a peculiar method of ‘‘false embroidery.”’ To Fic.19. Spoonmadeof a limited extent, such geometric designs are used mountain-goat horn. i) quill embroidery applied to leggings and other articles of dress, and seem to have been used on old types of blankets woven of mountain-goat wool. The realistic art, which is —— BOAS] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 7 based on woodwork, is essentially a man’s art; the geometric art, which is based on basket and mat weaving, is a woman’s art.’ The products of different parts of the country and of different tribes were so varied, that a lively trade existed all along the coast. The Tsimshian sold to the Haida, in exchange for canoes, particularly boxes of olachen oil, carved spoons of mountain-goat horn (fig. 19) and bighorn-sheep horn (fig. 20), wool and woolen blankets. Dentalia, Fic. 20. Ladle made of mountain-sheep horn. abalone shells, copper, and slaves were also important in intertribal trade. Dried salmon, halibut, and other kinds of staple food, were also sold in exchange for furs and other valuables. It is said that blankets made of marmot skins sewed together were a standard of value. The curious copper plates made in olden times of native copper, later of imported copper (fig. 21), represented high values. These were used only at potlatches. 1 For details in regard to this subject see Boas 6; Emmons 1, 2; Willoughby. I. TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 1. TxA’mMseM (THE RAvEeN LEGEND)! (1) ORIGIN OF TXA’MSEM At one time the whole world was covered with darkness. At the southern point of Queen Charlotte Islands there was a town in which theanimalslived. Itsnamewas Kungalas. A chief and his wife were living there, and with them a boy, their only child, who was loved very much by his parents. Therefore his father tried to keep him out of danger. He built for his son a bed above his own, in the rear of his large house. He washed him regularly, and the boy grew up to bea youth. When he was quite large the youth became ill, and, beg very sick, it was not long before he died. Therefore the hearts cf his parents were very sad. They cried on account of their beloved child. The chief invited his tribe, and all the (animal) people went to the chief’s house and entered. Then the chief ordered the child’s body to be laid out; and he said, ‘‘Take out his intestines.’’ His attendants laid out the body of the chief’s child, took out the intestines, burned them at the rear of the chief’s house, and placed the body on the bed which his father had built for his son. The chief and the chieftainess wailed every morning under the corpse of their dead son, and his tribe cried with them. They did so every day after the young man’s death. One morning before daylight came, the chieftainess went again to wail. She arose, and looked up to where her son was lying. There she saw a youth, bright as fire, lying where the body of their son had been. Therefore she called her husband, and said to him, ‘Our beloved child has come back to life.’’ Therefore the chief arose and went to the foot of the ladder which reached to the place where the body had been. He went up to his son, and said, “‘Is it you, my beloved son? Is it you?” Then the shining youth said, “Yes, it is 1’ Then suddenly gladness touched the hearts of the parents. The tribe entered again to console their chief and their chieftainess. When the people entered, they were much surprised to see the shining youth there. He spoke to them. ‘‘Heaven was much annoyed by your constant wailing, so He sent me down to comfort your minds.” The great tribe of the chief were very glad because the prince lived again among them. His parents loved him more than ever. 1 Notes, pp. 634, 636. 2[Probably Haida Ku’nxalas (see Swanton 2, p. 278, town No. 31), the town of the Eagle family Q!o’na ge'gawa-i. 58 Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 59 The shining youth ate very little. He staid there a long time, and he did not eat at all; he only chewed a little fat, but he did not eat any. The chief had two great slaves—a miserable man and his wife. The great slaves were (called) Mouth At Each End. Every morning they brought all kinds of food into the house. One day, when they came in from where they had been, they brought a large cut of whale meat. They threw it on the fire and ate it. They did this every time they came back from hunting. Then the chieftainess tried to give food to her son who had come back to life, but he declined it and lived without food. The chieftainess was very anxious to give her son something to eat. She was afraid that her son would die again. On the following day the shining youth took a walk to refresh himself. As soon as he had gone out, the chief went up the ladder to where he thought his son had his bed. Behold, there was the corpse of his own son! Nevertheless he loved his new child. One day the chief and chieftainess went out to visit the tribe, and the two great slaves entered, carrying a large piece of whale meat. They threw the whale fat into the fire and ate of it. Then the shining youth came toward them and questioned the two great slaves, asking them, ‘‘What makes you so hungry?” The two great slaves replied, ‘‘We are hungry because we have eaten scabs from our shin bones.” Therefore the shining youth said to them, ‘“Do you like what you eat?” Then the slave-man said, ‘‘Yes, my dear!” Therefore the prince replied, ‘‘ Twill also try the scabs you speak about.” Then the slave-woman said, ‘‘No, my dear! Don’t desire to be as we are.” The prince repeated, ‘‘T will just taste it and spit it out again.’”’ Then the male slave cut off a small piece of whale meat and put in a small scab. Then the female slave scolded her husband for what he was doing. ‘‘O bad man! what have you been doing to the poor prince?” The shining prince took up the piece of meat with the scab in it, put it into his mouth, tasted it, and spit it out again. Then he went back to his bed. When the chief and the chieftainess came back from their visit, the prince said to his mother, “Mother, I am very hungry.” The chieftainess said at once, ‘‘Oh, dear, is it true, isit true?”” She ordered her slaves to feed her beloved son with rich food. The slaves prepared rich food, and the youth ate it all. Again he was very hungry and ate everything, and the slaves gave him more to eat than before. He did so for several days, and soon all the provisions in his father’s house were at an end. Then the prince went to every house of his father’s people and ate the provisions that were in the houses. This was because he had tasted the seabs of Mouth At Each End. Now the provisions were all used up. The chief knew that the pro- visions of his tribe were almost exhausted. Therefore the great chief 60 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 felt sad and ashamed on account of what his son had done, for he had devoured almost all the provisions of his tribe. Therefore the chief invited all the people in, and said, “I will send my child away before he eats all our provisions and we lack food.” Then all the people agreed to what the chief had said. As soon as they had all agreed, the chief called his son. He told him to sit down in the rear of the house. As soon as he had sat down there, the chief spoke to his son, and said, “‘ My dear son, I shall send you away inland . ia | to the other side of the ocean. He gave his son a small round stone and a raven blanket and a dried sea-lion bladder filled with all kinds of berries. The chief said to his son, ‘‘ When you fly across the ocean and feel weary, drop this round stone on the sea, and you shall find rest on it; and when you reach the mainland, scatter the various kinds of fruit all over the land; and also scatter the salmon roe in all the rivers and brooks, and also the trout roe; so that you may not lack food as long as you live in this world.’ Then he started. His father named him Giant. (2) ORIGIN OF DAYLIGHT? Giant flew inland (toward the east). He went on for a long time, and finally he was very tired, so he dropped down on the sea the little round stone which his father had given to him. It became a large rock way out at sea. Giant rested on it and refreshed himself, and took off the raven skin. At that time there was always darkness. There was no daylight then. Again Giant put on the raven skin and flew toward the east. Now, Giant reached the mainland and arrived at the mouth of Skeena River. There he stopped and scattered the salmon roe and trout roe. He said while he was scattering them, ‘‘Let every river and creek have all kinds of fish!” Then he took the dried sea-lion bladder and scattered the fruits all over the land, saying, ‘‘Let every mountain, hill, valley, plain, the whole land, be full of fruits!” The whole world was still covered with darkness. When the sky was clear, the people would have a little light from the stars; and when clouds were in the sky, it was very dark all over the land. The people were distressed by this. Then Giant thought that it would be hard for him to obtain his food if it were always dark. He remembered that there was light in heaven, whence he had come. Then he made up his mind to bring down the light to our world. On the following day Giant put on his raven skin, which his father the chief had given to him, and flew upward. Finally he found the hole in the sky, and he flew through it. Giant reached the inside of the sky. He took off the raven skin and put it down near the hole of 1 Meaning to the mainland.—F. B. 2 Notes, p. 641. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 61 the sky.. He went on, and came to a spring near the house of the chief of heaven. There he sat down and waited. Then the chief’s daughter came out, carrying a small bucket in which she was about to fetch water. She went down to the big spring in front of her father’s house. When Giant saw her coming along, he transformed himself into the leaf of a cedar and floated on the water. The chief’s daughter dipped it up in her bucket and drank it. Then she returned to her father’s house and entered. After a short time she was with child, and not long after she gave birth to a boy. Then the chief and the chieftainess were very glad. They washed the boy regularly. He began to grow up. Now he was beginning to creep about. They washed him often, and the chief smoothed and cleaned the floor of the house. Now the child was strong and crept about every day. He began to cry, ‘‘Hama, hama!”’ He was crying all the time, and the great chief was troubled, and called in some of his slaves to carry about the boy. The slaves did so, but he would not sleep for several nights. He kept on crying, “Hama, hama!’’ Therefore the chief invited all his wise men, and said to them that he did not know what the boy wanted and why he was crying. He wanted the box that was hanging in the chief’s house. This box, in which the daylight was kept, was hanging in one corner of the house. Its name was m@. Giant had known it before he descended to our world. The child cried for it. The chief was an- noyed, and the wise men listened to what the chief told them. When the wise men heard the child crying aloud, they did not know what he was saying. He was crying all the time, ‘‘Hama, hama, hama!”’ One of the wise men, who understood him, said to the chief, ‘‘ He is erying for the ma.” Therefore the chief ordered it to be taken down. The man put it down. They put it down near the fire, and the boy sat down near it and ceased crying. He stopped crying, for he was glad. Then he rolled the ma about inside the house. He did so for four days. Sometimes he would carry it to the door. Now the great chief did not think of it. He had quite forgotten it. Then the boy really took up the ma, put it on his shoulders, and ran out with it. While he was running, some one said, ‘Giant is running away with the ma!’’ He ran away, and the hosts of heaven pursued him. They shouted that Giant was running away with the ma. He came to the hole of the sky, put on the skin of the raven, and flew down, carrying the ma. Then the hosts of heaven returned to their houses, and he flew down with it to our world. At that time the world was still dark.1. He arrived farther up the river, and went down river. Giant had come down near the mouth of Nass River. He went to the mouth of Nass River. It was always dark, and he carried the ma about with him. He went on, and went 1 Notes, p. 649. 62 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eru. ANN. 31 up the river in the dark. A little farther up he heard the noise of the people, who were catching olachen in bag nets in their canoes. There was much noise out on the river, because they were working hard. Giant, who was sitting on the shore, said, ‘‘Throw ashore one of the things that you are catching, my dear people!” After a while, Giant said again, ‘‘Throw ashore one of the things you are catching!’’ Then those on the water scolded him. ‘‘ Where did you come from, great liar, whom they call Txi’msrm?’’ The (animal) people knew that it was Giant. Therefore they made fun of him. Then Giant said again, ‘‘ Throw ashore one of the things that you are catching, or I shall break the ma!” and all those who were on the water answered, ‘‘ Where did you get what you are talking about, you liar?”’ Giant said once more, “Throw ashore one of the things that you are catching, my dear people, or I shall break the ma for you!”? One person replied, scolding him. Giant had repeated his request four times, but those on the water refused what he had asked for. Therefore Giant broke the ma. It broke, and it was daylight. The north wind began to blow hard; and all the fishermen, the Frogs, were driven away by the north wind. All the Frogs who had made fun of Giant were driven away down river until they arrived at one of the large mountainous islands. Here the Frogs tried to climb up the rock; but they stuck to the rock, being frozen by the north wind, and became stone. They are still on the rock. The fishing Frogs named him Txi’msrm, and all the world had the day- light. (3) STONE AND ELDERBERRY BUSH! TxiimsEm went along up Nass River, and came to the place where Stone and Elderberry Bush were quarreling, discussing who should give birth first. Stone wished to give birth first, and Elderberry . Bush also wished to give birth first. Txiimsrm listened to what they were saying. Stone said, ‘If I give birth first, then people will live a long time; if you give birth first, people will live a short time.” Giant went to the place where they were and looked, and, behold! Stone had almost given birth to her child. Then he went to Elder- berry Bush and touched her. He said, “Give birth first, Elder- berry Bush.’’ Then Elderberry Bush gave birth to her child. For that reason people do not live many years. Because Elderberry Bush gave birth to her child first, man dies quickly. If Stone had given birth first to her child, it would not be so. That is what our people say. That is the story of Elderberry Bush’s children; and therefore the Indians are much troubled because Stone did not give birth to her children first. For this reason the people die soon, and elderberry bushes grow on their graves. 1 Notes, p. 663. en BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 63 (4) ORIGIN OF FIRE ' Again TxiimsEm went on, and the people began to multiply on the earth. However, they were distressed because they had no fire to cook their food and to warm themselves in winter; and Giant remembered that they had fire in the village of the animals. Therefore he tried to fetch it for the people. He started, wearing his raven blanket which his father, the chief, had given to him before he left yonder. Soon he arrived; but the people of his father’s village refused to let him have fire, and sent him away from their town. He tried in every way to get fire, but he failed, for the people would not let him have it. Finally he sent one of his attendants, the Sea Gull, to carry a message to the people; and this is the message the Sea Gull carried: “4 good-looking young chief will come soon to the people to have a dance in your chief’s house.”” Then the whole tribe made ready to welcome the young chief. Then Giant caught a deer and skinned it. At that time the deer had a long tail, like a wolf’s tail. Giant tied pitch wood to the long tail of the deer. He borrowed the canoe of the great Shark, and they came to the village, where the chief had a large fire in his house. The big Shark’s canoe was full of crows and sea gulls; and Giant was sitting in the center of the canoe, dressed in his deer skin. Then all the people entered. They built a large fire, larger than it had been before, and the great house of the chief was full of his tribesmen. Then all the newcomers were seated on one side of the large house, ready to smg. Soon the young chief began to dance, and all his companions beat time with their sticks, and one had adrum. They all sang a song, and some of the birds clapped their hands, and they all sang together. The Deer entered at the door. He looked around, and entered leaping and dancing, and went around the large fire. Then all the people were well pleased to see him dance. Finally he struck his tail over the fire, and the pitch wood on his tail caught fire. He ran out with the firebrand at his tail and swam on the water. Then all his companions flew away out of the house. The great Shark canoe also left. The people tried to catch the Deer, intending to kill him. He jumped and swam quickly, and the pitch wood at his tail was burning. When he arrived at one of the islands, he went ashore quickly, struck a fir tree with his tail, and said, ‘‘You shall burn as long as the years last.” For that reason the deer has a short black tail. (5) TXA’/MSEM USES THE SINEWS OF THE TOMTIT ” Tximsem walked along the seashore and saw a long mass of seaweed way out at sea. There were very large sea eggs onit. TxiimsEm was anxious to eat them, but he could not get them because the seaweed { Notes, p. 660. 2 Notes, p. 655. 64 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [2TH. ANN. 31 was too far out to sea. Therefore he made up his mind to invite in all the people from the land and from the sea; and when all the guests were in his house, Txiimsrm spoke: ‘‘Friends, I have invited you in because I want to borrow your sinews.” All the people promised to help him, and first he took the sinew of the large whale. Tximsem threw it out to sea, trying to reach the large sea egg that he saw on the long mass of seaweed which was floating on the sea. The whale sinew, however, broke. He tried the sinews of all the different animals, one at a time, but none of them were satisfactory. Finally he said, ‘‘Whose sinews have I not tried yet?””? Then the little Tomtit stood up and said, ‘‘Sir, you may take my sinews;”’ and he took out the sinews from his little belly and held them out to him. They were as thin as spider web. When all his sinews were out, he said, ‘‘Now, master, take hold of one end of my sinews and throw them out where the long mass of seaweed is; then we shall get your sea ege.’”’ Txiimsem could hardly hold the small sinew of the Tomtit. Nevertheless he tried. Finally Tomtit took hold of one end of (the rope made of) his own sinews, went down to the beach, and threw (the rope made of) his own sinews seaward to the place where the long mass of seaweed was, and caught it. Then all the people pulled at it, and the sinews of the little Tomtit were stronger than the sinews of all the other animals. Soon Tximsrm had a large sea ege. He ate it and kept the shell. He was well pleased to have eaten the large sea egg. Then he gave power to Tomtit to be achief over all the animals. Then Txiimsmm went on. (6) ORIGIN OF TIDES! Again TxiimsEm took his raven blanket and flew over the ocean with the firebrand in his hands. He arrived at the mainland and came to another house, which belonged to a very old woman, who held the tide-line in her hand. At that time the tide was always high, and did not turn for several days, until the new moon came, and all the people were anxious for clams and other sea food. Giant entered and found the old woman holding the tide-line in her hand. He sat down and said, ‘‘Oh, I have had enough, I have had all the clams I need!’ The old woman said at once, ‘‘How is that possible? How can that be? What are you talking about, Giant ?’’—‘‘Yes, I have had clams enough.’ The old woman said, ‘‘No, it is not true.” There- fore Giant pushed her, so that she fell back, and he threw dust into her eyes and her mouth. Then she let the tide-line go, so that the tide ran out very low, and all the clams and shellfish were on the beach. So Giant carried up as much as he could. The tide was still low when he re-entered. The old woman said, ‘‘Giant, come and heal my eyes! I am blind from the dust.’ Giant said, ‘‘Will you 1 Notes, p. 656. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 65 promise to slacken the tide-line twice a day?” She agreed, and Giant cured her eyes. He had eaten all the shellfish that he had carried up. The old woman said, ‘‘How can you get water to drink, Giant?” He answered that it was under the roots of the little alder tree. Soon Giant was thirsty, and he went to drink water, but he could not find any. Finally he went up Skeena River, and there he found water, because the old woman had dried up all the brooks and creeks. Therefore the tide turns twice every day, going up and down. (7) GIANT GAMBLES WITH GULL? He went on and madea house. He saw a sea gull flying about, and said, ‘‘Hey!”? The Gull continued to fly about, erying, ‘‘Ha, ha!” Then Giant ran about and made sticks, intending to gamble, and the Sea Gull came to him. They began to gamble, and soon they began to quarrel; and Giant said, ‘‘This is my gambling-stick.”” Sea Gull said, ‘‘No, it is my gambling-stick.”” Therefore Giant threw the Gull on his back and stepped on his stomach, so that the Gull vomited one olachen. Giant took it, and the Gull flew away. (8) GIANT OBTAINS THE OLACHEN ? On the following day Giant made a little canoe of elderberry wood, went down the river, and landed at the beach in front of the house of a great chief, Kuwask. After he had rubbed the spawn of the olachen over the inside of his canoe, he entered, and said, ““Oh! my clothes are wet, because the Tsimshian were working hard last night, fishing for olachen. Many persons caught two or three canoe-loads of olachen up the river last mght.’? Then the people in the chief's house said, ‘‘Oh, how could olachen get there? Their time has not come yet. They will go up four months and a half hence.”? They did not believe what Giant said, and continued, “You are a liar, you are a liar!’ Giant said, “Look at the inside of my canoe! There are spawn of olachen in it.”” The young men went down, and saw that the whole inside of the canoe was full of olachen spawn; and when they lifted up the stern-sheets, they found the tail of an olachen. Therefore the young men returned, went up, and said, “It is true,” and showed the olachen tail. Then the great chief said, ‘‘ Perhaps those foolish young olachens haye gone(?).’’ Moreover, he said, “Go and ask the several chiefs in the village—ask Burst Under The Stern Sheets, ask Stick To The Hot Stone, ask Half Eaten By The Goose, ask Dried In Olachen Box.* See what they say!” Then the person went to ask them. He was sent by the chief, and they allagreed. Therefore the chief ordered the men who were standing in the four 1 See p. 69. 2 Notes, p. 653. 3 These are names of the various olachen chiefs, and refer to the conditions of the fish during the process of catching and trying out the oil.—F. B. 50633°—31 ETH—16——5 66 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN, 31 corners of his house to break the corners. They did so, and the olachen went down into the water. Therefore Giant ran down to the water, stepped into the river, and shouted to the olachen to go up the river. He said, “Go up on both sides of the river!” Then he went aboard his canoe, filled it with olachen, and paddled along to Nass River, shouting all the while. Therefore on Nass River the olachen fishing begins very early in spring. (9) GIANT LEARNS HOW TO COOK OLACHEN! Giant camped at a certain place. He did not know how to cook his olachen. A woman came to the place where he had camped, and Giant spoke kindly to her, like a brother to his sister. Her name was Tsowatz. She was the Oil Woman, of dark complexion. Giant asked her, ‘Tell me, how shall I cook my olachen?” Oil Woman told him, ‘You must heat stones; and when they are red-hot, pour four pails of water into a large cedar box.’’ Thus spoke Oil Woman to Giant. She said also, “Make a pair of tongs of cedar wood for handling red-hot stones. The tongs should be a fathom and a half long. Throw red-hot stones into a box; and when the water boils, fill five baskets with olachen; then heat some more stones; and when they also are red-hot, make a large spoon of alder wood, and use it for taking the stones out of the cedar box. When you have done this two or three times, the fish will be done. Before the fish is done, pour more water into the box before you take out the first lot of stones. Then, after you take out the first lot of stones, put in the second lot. Then take them out again, and put in the third lot of red-hot stones to cook the fish with; and when the oil appears on top of the water, you will have all the grease you want.’’ Thus spoke the Oil Woman to Giant, and Giant was glad to receive the instruction of Oil Woman. He took her gladly to be his sister. (10) GIANT AND THE GULLS While he was still encamped there, a gull appeared over Giant. He called him Little Gull. Then two Gulls came to him; and Giant asked them, “How shall I roast my olachen, friends?”’ The two Gulls taught him how to roast the olachen. They built a frame of elderberry wood and put it in good order. The space between the elderberry sticks was about three finger-widths, and they were as long as the fore arm. They placed the olachen on the elderberry frame. Then the Gulls said to Giant, ‘Put on your mat of spruce roots and your cedar-bark raincoat, and your gloves, and wrap your blanket around your knees, and start a fire under the frame, and sit there and keep the fire a-going until the olachen are done on one side. Then 1This and the following story contain the olachen taboos practiced by the Tsimshian.—Notes, p. 653.—F. B. ee Cl ————— BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 67 turn them over. When you turn the frame over, say ‘Lawa!’ Then put it in good order again, and put them on the frame with the other side towards the fire. Then, when one of the olachen bursts on account of the heat of the fire, say ‘Oh, oh! some more olachen are coming up!’ ”” Giant was very glad to receive the instructions of the two Gulls. Before the olachen was done, the two Gulls began to eat Giant’s olachen; and they cried while eating, ‘““Gunaz haa, gunaz haa!”’ Then many gulls came, erying “Gunax haa, gunax haa!” and ate all the olachen on the frame. Now Giant was sad. He took the Gulls and threw them into the fire, and ever since that time the tips of their wings have been black. (Note of the Recorder.—The place where he camped at that time was called Little Crabapple-Tree Place. And so we know nowadays how to cook olachen, for Giant taught the people how to cook olachen. All these works he did in order to support the people whom he made out of the elderberry tree. The first thing he did was to leave his father; the second was to fly over the sea to the mainland; the third, to scatter all kinds of fishes in the rivers and streams; the fourth, to scatter all kinds of berries over the dry land; fifth, he ascended to heaven and brought down daylight and north wind; and as the sixth thing, he went to the village of his father and brought the fire; seventh, he went to the old woman and obtained from her the tide- line; eighth, he called the Gull to gamble with him, and in their quarrel he stepped on the Gull’s stomach and made him vomit olachen; ninth, he went to the olachen village and deceived the chief; tenth, he met the Oil Woman; eleventh, he called two Gulls to teach him how to roast the olachen. And this is the end of his works to fill the wants of the new people whom he had made.) (11) TXA’MSEM AND THE STEELHEAD SALMON! Now Giant’s name was changed to Tximsem. Hewent on,and saw a steelhead salmon jumping in the river. Then he madea plan. He kicked the rock and made a deep hole. He said with a loud voice, “Wa, steelhead salmon! come up to me to the beach!” He was stand- ing above the hole which he had kicked into the rock. Suddenly the steelhead salmon hit his heart, and Tximsem lay there like one dead. After a while he opened his eyes, and saw that the salmon had jumped over the hole that he had made. He kicked the rock again, and made a second hole. Again he said, ‘‘Come up to me, big steel- head salmon, and we will see who is the stronger!”” He stood there, ready to catch the steelhead salmon. Again suddenly the steel- head salmon hit his heart, and he lay there like one dead. After a while he opened his eyes and saw the steelhead salmon lying in the hole near the water. Txiimsem rushed down to kill it, but could not reach it. He kicked the rock again, and made a third hole, and he 1 Notes, p. 674. 68 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 stood there above those three holes. He repeated the same words as before, ‘‘Come up to me, big steelhead salmon! We will see who is the stronger.”” And when he said so, the steelhead salmon hit him again, and he lay there like one dead. His heart was swollen. When his eyes opened again, he saw the steelhead salmon again, which lay right in the middle of the last hole. He went down slowly and caught it; and he was very glad to have the steelhead salmon, for he was very hungry. He did not know how to prepare his food, so he sat down and eased himself. Then he asked his excrements, ‘‘What shall I do, exere- ments?”? They answered, ‘‘Steam it in a hole, steam it in a hole.” Then he gathered firewood. Then Tximsrm gathered stones, heated them, and when the stones were red-hot, he put them in a hole. He also went and gathered leaves of the skunk-cabbage to cover it. Then he cut the salmon lengthwise, and covered it with the skunk- cabbage leaves, and poured water on it. When the salmon was done, white crows gathered over him. Then Txiimsrm said to the White Crows, ‘‘Grandchildren, go and borrow for me some dishes, so that I may eat my salmon.’’ The White Crows went and brought mussel- shells to Tximsem. When he saw them, he said, ‘‘No, that is not what I want. I want real dishes. Go again and bring them!”’ They went, and brought clamshells. Then TxiimsEm became angry, and said, ‘‘Go again and bring me real dishes.”” They went, and brought all kinds of shells. Now Tximsrm himself went to get real dishes. As:soon as he had gone, all the crows came and ate Txiim- skm’s salmon. After they had eaten it, they put over the hole a large hemlock tree that stood near by. When TxiimsrEm came back, he saw that the hole was empty, and all he saw was that the ground was covered with the crows’ excrements. He looked up, and, behold! multitudes of crows covered the branches of a large tree. Then all the crows flew away; and Tximsrm cursed them, and said, “As you are flying there, you shall be all black.’ Therefore all crows are black. (12) TXA’MSEM AND LAGOBOLA’! Txiimskm went down the river, and arrived at its mouth. There he met aman named Lagobola, and Tximsrm talked to him. He said, ‘Brother, where have you been?” Lagobola replied, ‘‘I come from the south, and I heard of your fame, which has spread all over the world.” Thus spoke Lagobola to Tximsem. Lagobola also said, “T also hear about your supernatural power.” Then Txiimsrem said, ‘‘ Well, Brother Lagobola, let us go to the sea tomorrow to hunt sea otters!” and Lagobola agreed. They were going to Dundas Island. Txiimsem killed three seals and two sea otters; and he camped there first. While he was making a fire, Lagobola came to 1 Notes, p. 666. ——— Se Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS . 69 the place where he was encamped. 'TxiimsEm invited him up, and they were about to eat there. Then Tximsrem went to get fuel and to look for water. They began to eat; and after they had eaten, Lagobola said to his friend, ‘‘What are you going to drink, TximsEm ? Are you going to drink from the root of the little alder tree?” '— “Yes, my dear!” said Tximsem. After they had eaten, Tximszm took his bucket and went to the root of the little alder tree, and found no water there, for Lagobola had dried up all the water of the brooks. Txiimsrm knew at once that Lagobola had caused the water to dis- appear. Therefore he put his one foot on Dundas Island, the other on the mainland at the mouth of Skeena River, filled his (basket) bucket, and took the water to Lagobola. Then Lagobola drank, and tasted the water of Skeena River. ; On the following morning TximsEm and Lagobola started to hunt. TxiimsEm said, ‘‘Go round outside Dundas Island, and I will go inside.”’ Lagobola consented to this; and while they were going along, Lagobola took off his hunting-cap, and a fog arose. He put it upside down in his canoe, then a thick fog lay on the surface of the water. Tximsem lost his way and paddled about, but his brother Lagobola did not paddle. His canoe was just drifting about. Then TxiimsEm was seared. He cried, and called his friend. ‘‘My dear Lagobola, I know your supernatural power is stronger than mine. Take pity on me, my dear!” He called out to him again, but Lagobola did not answer. Again he called, and began to cry. He said, ‘‘O my dear brother!” Then Lagobola shouted, and said, “What is the matter with you?”” Lagobola gathered the fog, took it off from the water, and put it in his cap. Then he put the cap on, and soon the fog cleared away. Then Lagobola asked Tximsrm, “Why are you so full offear?”” Txiémsrm said, “T did not ery, I am only singing in my canoe.” They paddled along toward the main- land, and came to the mouth of Skeena River. Then they went up the river, each in his own canoe. When they reached the point where the current runs down, TxiimsEm said, ‘‘Let us gamble here!”’ Lagobola agreed, although he did not care. He said to TxiimsEm, “What kind of game shall we play?” Txiimsem replied, “Let us have a shooting-match!”’ So Lagobola consented. Txiimsmrm had said, ‘‘Whoever hits this crack shall win the game—either I or you.” He prepared a rock and split it, so that they might shoot at it. ‘‘Let us stake Skeena River against Nass River!” Then his brother Lagobola agreed. Lagobola had a nice box-quiver, but Txiimsem had just made a bow andarrow. TxiimsEm took twostones, on which they sat down. They talked to each other. Tximsrm wished tosit nearer to the water than his brother. Lagobola said, ‘‘You shoot first, my 1 See p. 65. 70 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 brother!” but Tximsrm replied, ‘‘No, let us shoot at the same time!” Lagobola agreed, and they shot at the same time. Before they shot, TximseEm squirted water from his mouth, and said, ‘‘Let Lagobola’s arrow fall a little farther over there, and let my arrow hit the goal!”’ As soon as the brothers shot, Lagobola saw distinctly that his arrow struck the rock, while Txiimsrm’s arrow fell a little to one side; but Txiimsem said, “I hit it!’’ Lagobola said, ‘“No, I hit it!” but Txiimsem repeated, ‘‘I hit it!” He was very glad while he was saying this. At once Lagobola said, ‘‘You won, Brother TximsEm. Now the olachen will come to Nass River twice every summer;”’ and Tximsem said, “And the salmon of Skeena River shall always be fat.” Thus they divided what Tximsrem had won at Nass River. Then Tximsem went down to the ocean, and Lagobola went south- ward to the place he had come from. (13) TXA’MSEM AND THE CRAB! TxiimsEm went on with his raven blanket which his father had given him, and flew over the ocean. What was he to eat? At sun- rise he arrived at a sand-spit. He saw a large Crab sitting there, warming himself in the sun. It was very low tide. Txamsem wanted to kill him, so he flew to the place where the Crab was sitting, and said, ‘‘Let us have a game, grandfather!’’ Thus spoke Tximsem, while he touched the back of the Crab. The Crab replied, ‘‘Oh, no!” Txiimsem did so several times. When the tide turned, the Crab moved away. But Tximsrem desired very much to have the large Crab. Again he flew to him, touched him on his back, and said, ‘‘Let us have a game, grandfather!” The Crab replied, ‘‘Oh, no!” Again he flew and touched him on his back, and said, ‘‘Let us have a game, grandfather!”’ Then the Crab was displeased with TxiimsEem, who was sitting close to the water. Txiimsrm came again and pushed him, and said, ‘‘Let us have a game, grandfather!” Then the large Crab caught him by the leg and walked slowly down into the water. TxiimsEm was scared, for he was in the claws of the large Crab. He said to the Crab, ‘‘Dear grandfather, let me go!” but the Crab would not listen to his request, and walked along the bottom of the sea. Soon the Crab felt that Txiimsrm was dead, and let go of him. TximseEm came up to the surface of the water and floated there. A light wind blew and drifted him ashore. Then the tide turned again, and he lay there on the ground. Thesun rose up to the middle of the sky and loosened the raven blanket. By and by he opened his eyes, because he had been warmed by the heat of the sun. He arose, and saw some of his feathers that had come off. Then he said to himself, scratching his head, ‘‘My feathers have done well enough.” 1 Notes, p. 721. —————— Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Wal (14) ORIGIN OF THE BULLHEAD! TximseEm wert along the sand-point, and while walking there he was searching for food, but he did not find anything. Suddenly, behold! there was a fish in the water. It was not moving. Txiimsem stood there and wept. He said to the Fish, “ You look like my grandfather, who died a little while ago.”’ He wiped the tears from his eyes, and said, ““Come ashore! I want to talk to you a while.” The Fish came toward the shore. Txiimsrm thought he would kill it. He was much depressed because he was hungry. Now the Fish was almost within, his reach, but it swam back into the deep _ water. The Fish knew Txiimsrm’s intentions, and swam back from the shore, saying, ‘Do you think I do not know you, Giant?”? Then Giant acted as though he were going to take hold of the Fish, stretched out his hand, and said, ‘‘ You shall have a thin tail, only your head shall be large and thick.” It became the bullhead. The bullhead is remarkably stout, because Txiimsrm cursed it, and made it thin at one end, while the other end is thick. (15) TXA’MSEM FRIGHTENS AWAY THE OWNERS OF A WHALE? Txiimsem lived there for a while. Soon he made up his mind to go back to the mainland, for he was very hungry. He had bad luck, and he needed something to eat. He flew back over the sea, and soon he came to a village where there were many people. Behold! a large whale lay there on the beach. He had on his raven blanket, and he flew to the place where the dead whale lay, and said in the Raven lan- guage, “‘Guldge gag dze ef ban!” The people were worried to know what the Raven wanted to say. On the following day a number of gamblers were together at one place in this village. Tximsrzm was sitting at one end of the gamblers. The people did not know him. They began to talk about what the Raven had said the day before. Therefore the Raven asked what it was that the Raven had been saying. Then one of the party told him that the day before, in the afternoon, a raven flying over the dead whale had turned over above the whale, saying, ‘‘ Guldge gag dze et ban,” and that he had done so several times. ‘Oh, Isee, understand whathesaid! Hesaid, ‘Maybe a pestilence will come to this village within a few days.’”’ Then the people were still more troubled; and when evening came, the chief of the village sent out his slave, and said, ‘‘ Go out and order the people to move tomorrow morning!” The great slave ran out and cried, “Great tribe, move!”’? They did so the following morning. Now, TxiimseEm lived in the chief’s house. He carved the large whale, and carried the meat into the house. Four houses were filled with the meat and fat. He lived there a long time, and ate the whale meat and fat. 1 Notes, p. 685. 2 Notes, p. 687. 72 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 (16) TXA’MSEM FINDS A BEAUTIFUL BLANKET.! Now, Txiimsem took one of the chief’s dancing-garments and wore it. He threw away his raven blanket which his father had given him, and went on, not knowing where he went. He went along, and tore his dancing-blanket, and was very poor; but he remembered his raven blanket which he had thrown away. He turned back and searched for his raven blanket a long time. At last he found it, took it up, and put it on, then he was glad to have it back. He went on, and saw a very nice dancing-blanket lke the one he had worn before. At once he tore his raven blanket which his father had given him, and took the dancing-blanket that hung before him. He went on, dressed like a young prince; but when he was walking, behold! it was no dancing-garment, but he had on only lichens. He sat there weeping, turned back, and searched for his raven blanket, tied it together, and walked on, hungry and weeping. As he went along, behold! there were a marten blanket and a dancing-blanket hanging there. So he went toward them, took off his raven blanket, and wore the marten blanket below, and the dancing-blanket over it. He went on, dressed like a young chief. Then he saw a village before him, and his heart rose in pride; but, behold! his garments were only common moss and lichens. He stood there again weeping, and turned back to search for his raven blanket which his father had given him. He found it, put it on, and flew toward the town. (17) TXA’MSEM AND HIS SLAVE? Before Tximsem reached the village he transformed a piece of rot- ten spruce wood into a slave, whom he called Lgum. Then Txiimsem took a pair of clamshells and made of them ear-ornaments, which he wore as princes wear abalone ear-ornaments. Then Tximsmm said to his slave whom he had made out of spruce wood, “When you see me walking on the beach of that town, say, ‘Do you know that a great chief is walking along the beach of your village, great tribe ?’”’ Theslave passed several times, and repeated what his master told him. Sometimes he made a mistake. Then Tximsrm scolded him for his mistakes until he remembered what TxiimseEm taught him to say. They went on, and soon came to the end of the village. Tximszm walked along the beach in front of the town. Then his slave shouted, and said, ‘Do you know that a great chief is walking in front of your town, great tribe? He is wearing his abalone ear-ornaments.”’ Then the whole tribe went to see the great chief who had come into their town. The head chief of the town invited Txiimsrm into his house, and set before him rich food of all kinds. While Txiimszm was eating, he saw that the chief’s house was full of dried codfish. 1 Notes, p. 722. 2 Notes, p. 689. BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 73 After the evening meal, he called to his slave to go with him to refresh themselves for a while. They did so; and when they were behind the house, he opened his mind to the slave. He said, “TI saw a house full of dried codfish, so I will pretend to die. When you go in, I will lie down, and some of the codfish oil will drop into my eye. Then I shall pretend to die of this cause; and when you tell the people that I am about to die, you shall order the people to move and to leave everything behind. Then, when you put me into the grave-box, don’t tie it too tightly.” Thus spoke Txiimsem to his slave. They went in again in the evening. Now, Txiimsem lay down, looked up, and soon some codfish oil dripped into one of his eyes. He pretended to be very sick, because he wanted to have all the codfish in the town. The same night, after a short time, he pre- tended to die. Then all the people wailed for him. The slave ran out and cried, ‘‘Move, great tribe, because the great chief died of the codfish oil!” The people did so. In the morning they moved, and left all the dried codfish and everything behind. The slave put him into a box, and tied it up with cedar-bark rope. When all the people had left, ximsrm asked from out of the box, “ Have they all left ?’’ The slave said, ‘“‘No.’”’ The slave left the box, went to every house, and ate the best codfish he could find. Then Txiimsrm became very desirous of eating it. The slave had tied up the box, and TxiimsEm was anxious to get out, but he was unable to open the box. So the slave ate all the codfish he wanted. Then, when the slave had enough, he went to the box, undid the rope with which he had tied the box, and Txiimsrem came out with sad countenance, and ate the codfish that his slave had left. They staid there a little longer, until they had devoured all the codfish in the whole village. (18) TXA’/MSEM KILLS HIS SLAVE! They went on and on, until they arrived at a large village. Then Tximsem ordered his slave to say the same as he had at the last village, where Tximsem had pretended to die. Txiims—Em walked along the beach in front of the town. Then his slave shouted, and said, ‘‘Do you know that a great chief is walking along the beach in front of your town, great tribe? He wears acostly pair of abalone ear- ornaments.”’ Then the whole tribe sallied forth from their houses to see the stranger. One of the head chiefs invited him in, and he entered with his slave and sat down. The chief gave them to eat. First they ate dried salmon, and then the waiters served them crab- apples mixed with grease. Then the chief of the house said, ‘“Leum, ask your master if he wishes to have crabapples from Gatax.’”’ When Txiimsrem saw these excellent crabapples, he was very desirous of eating them. Therefore he said to his slave in a low voice, ‘Tell 1 Notes, p. 691. 14 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN, 31 them that I should like to eat what they have there now.” The slave said, ‘‘O chief! my master says he does not eat what you have there now, because he is afraid he might die.” The chief of the house said, ‘‘Oh, I see! Then we will eat it with you, Lgum.” Then Txiimsrm sat there, looking at his slave angrily. The slave ate all with the chief of the house, but TximsEem had only very little to eat. After they finished eating, they went out. Tx&imsrm was still angry with his slave. TximsrEm went first, followed by his slave Gahaya (?). Soon they came to a deep canyon. TxiimsEm had placed the dried stem of a skunk-cabbage across, forming a bridge. He himself went across first; and when he reached the other side, he called Lgum to come across, but the slave was afraid to follow him. After a while, however, he followed him; and when Lgum reached the middle of the bridge, it broke. Then Lgum fell into the deep canyon, and his belly burst. When Txiimsem saw what had happened, and saw the food of which he had not been able to partake, he flew down to the bottom of the canyon and ate the contents of the slave’s stomach. TxiimseEm simply took the food with both his hands and ate it all. After he had eaten, he flew up from the bottom of the canyon. (19) FISHERMEN BREAK OFF TXA’MSEM’S JAW! Again Tximsrm was very hungry. He went on, not knowing which way to turn. Behold! he came out of the woods near a large town. There were people out in front of the town, fishing for halibut. Tximsem thought they might have much bait on their hooks and that he would eat it. He dived and saw the bait. He took it off from the hooks and ate it. Then Tximsem went from one hook to another, eating all the bait. Thus the bait of all the fishermen had disappeared, and they did not know how it had happened. Finally one of the fisher- men caught Tximsrm’s jaw. His jaw was caught on one of the hooks. Then the fisherman pulled up his line, and Txiimsrem was pulled up, He offered resistance, but could not take the hook out of his mouth, and he held on to the rocks at the bottom of the sea. Then the fisher- men assembled, and hauled together at the fishing-lme. TximszEm had said to the rocks to which he held at the bottom of the sea, “Help me, rocks of the bottom!’’ and finally he said to his jaw, “Break off, jaw! Iam getting tired now.” Then his jaw broke off, and the fisherman hauled up the line easily. Behold! the fishermen saw come up on the hook the great jaw with a long beard. Some of them laughed, but others were scared. They all went ashore at once, and all the people assembled in the chief’s house. They looked at the great jaw, and were surprised to see a man’s jaw with a long beard caught on a halibut hook. On the following day the gam- blers assembled at one place on the beach of the town. There they 1 Notes, p. 684. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 75 looked at the great jaw. It was aman’s jaw. Now Tximsrm went ashore and came out of the water. He was in great pain because his jaw had been broken off. Then he said to himself, ‘‘T am always doing something to myself.’’ Soon he arrived in the town, and saw the gamblers sitting on the beach. So he went toward them; and while the people were looking at the man’s great jaw, Txiimsmrm came and sat down at the end of the line of people that were sitting there. He saw the people looking at the great jaw. The people handed it around and looked at it. After a little while Txiimsem held his blanket over his mouth to cover his lost jaw; and when he saw his great jaw, he stretched out his hand and said, “Give it tome! Let me look at it!”’ He took it and looked at it, examining it and turning it over and over. He said, ‘Oh, that is wonderful!’ He made the people forget it, put it on, and ran away, and then the people recog- nized him. They said, ‘‘That is Txiimsem, the cheater.” Txiimsem ran away as fast as he could. Then his jaw was well again. (20) TXA’MSEM AND THE HUNTER |! TxiimsEm went on; and assoon as he came to the beach, he saw a hunting-canoe coming around the point, and four men in the canoe. He thought that the hunters would have with them many animals that they had caught, and he said to himself, ‘‘I will pretend to be a woman.’ When the hunters’ canoe approached, he assumed the shape of a woman. When the chief of the hunters saw the young woman walking along the shore, he said, ‘“‘Let us take her on board our canoe!’ They agreed, went ashore, and took her aboard. The chief wanted to marry her. The young woman earried a child along. The hunters camped in the evening, and the child was crying. Its mother said, “The child wants to have a gisor.2, That is why it cries.” Then the young man cooked seal and gave it to the woman to let the child eat of it. When the men were all asleep, TxiimseEm arose and ate all the animals that the hunters had. Early on the following morning the chief of the hunters arose, and saw that his new wife looked like a man; therefore he shouted to wake up his companions. Txiimsem arose first; and the chief of the hunters said, “That is you, Txiimsem, cheater!””? Txiimsem ran away, and his child flew away into the woods as a crow. (21) TXA’/MSEM AND THE CHILDREN * TxiimseEm came to another village, and saw many little children playing at the end of the town. They were throwing pieces of whale blubber at one another. Txiimsem went toward them, stepped in 1 Notes, p. 692. 2 The meaning of this word is unknown to me.—F. B. 3 Notes, p. 686. 76 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [TH. ANN. 31 among the children, and ate the blubber with which they were playing. He ate all the blubber which the children were throwing at one another. Then the children stood there quietly, wondering what had become of it. TximsEm questioned them. ‘‘Children, where did you get this blubber?”’ One of the largest boys told him where they got. it. He said, ‘‘ We climb up a tree and throw ourselves down. When we strike the ground, we say, ‘High piles of our blubber,’ and at once there are high piles of blubber.”’ Therefore Txiimsrm also climbed up a tree which the children had pointed out to him. It was a very tall one. When he reached the top of the tall tree, he threw himself down; and before he touched the ground, he shouted as the children had told him, “High!” Txiémsmm struck the ground. Then the children went up to him, looked, and saw that he was dead. The children laughed at him, and left him there. After a little while Tximsrm opened his eyes. He looked about, but he did not find anything to eat; but he had pains all over his body. He lay there on the ground, very sick from his fall from the top of the tall tree. (22) TXA’MSEM AND THE SALMON WOMAN! When Txiimsem recovered from his sickness, he went on, very hun- ery and distressed. He went down to the beach and built a small house, made acanoe and aspear. One day he went out to try to spear something to eat. It was a calm day. Txiimsem took up his spear, when a fog arose. It lay on the surface of the water. After a while the fog cleared away, and Txiimsmm beheld a bright and fair woman sitting in the bow of his canoe. Txiimsem smiled at her, and she also smiled at him. Txiimsrem said to the bright and fair woman, “T wish to marry you.”” Thus spoke Tximsrem to her. The woman said at once, “Just take care, Giant! I am the Salmon. Do not do me any harm.” Thus said Bright-Cloud Woman to him. Tximsrm replied to her, who was now his wife, ‘‘Come, mistress, let us go home to our house!’”’? They went ashore, and came to the beach in front of Tximsem’s house. As soon as they had gone in, Tximsem begged Bright-Cloud Woman to cause the salmon to appear in the brook that was at the right side of Tximsrm’s little house. Bright-Cloud Woman declined. Early the followmg morning Bright-Cloud Woman arose quietly, went down to the creek, and put her toes into the water. At once a great many spring salmon jumped in the water. Then she woke her husband, and said, ‘‘See how the salmon are jumping at the mouth of the creek!” He arose and saw the spring salmon near the mouth of the creek. Txiimsem was glad. Then Bright-Cloud Woman called her husband to comb his hair. TximsrEm’s hair was very ugly. His wife combed it way down his back, and she changed TxiimsEm’s hair into blond hair. She also 1 Notes, p. 668. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 77 made his rough skin soft and white. TximsrEm loved his wife very much. Soon the spring salmon were coming up the river. Txiimsem went down and clubbed them, and Bright-Cloud Woman went and got them, and Tximsrm got poles and hung the salmon on them to dry. Early the following moruing Bright-Cloud Woman went down to the creek again. She went into the water, and let the water come up to her knees. At once there were salmon jumping. She came out of the water, went to her husband, and awakened him. She said, “The creek is full of silver salmon.”” Txiémsrm arose, went down, and saw the silver salmon. The river was almost dried up, so full was it of salmon. On the following day Txiimsrm went to his canoe to get wood to smoke his wife’s salmon. He took along some salmon which he was going to eat while he was getting wood. When he came to a place where he was going to get wood, ravens were flying over him, because they noticed the salmon in Tximsrm’s canoe, and TxiimsEm had nothing to cover his salmon with. Many ravens assembled, and TxfimsEm did not want to leave his salmon in the canoe, and he also wanted very much to get wood to smoke all his wife’s salmon. So finally he took out one of his eyes to watch the salmon in the canoe; and he commanded his eye, ‘‘If any ravens should come to the canoe, call me, and I will come and drive them away. I don’t want them to eat my salmon. I am going to cut wood a little farther out there. If they come to the canoe, then call me; and when I call you from out there, you shall answer so that I know that you are still in my canoe.”’ Then he went. As soon as he had gone, the ravens came into the canoe; and his eye shouted, ‘““My eye, my eye! these ravens are about to devour me!” ‘Tximsem replied, ‘‘Hide under the stern-board!” His eye replied, “‘I have done so, yet the ravens are about to devour me.”’ TximsEm went back quickly, and called to his eye while he was going back, ““My eye, my eye! hide under the stern-board! Oh, my eye!” Soon he came down to the canoe, but both his eye and his salmon were gone. He had lost everything. He stood there on the shore, and lie had not a chip of wood; so he went aboard his canoe and went home, very sad. Soon he reached his camp. His beautiful wife came down to meet him on the beach. She asked him, “Why do you look so sad, my dear?”” Txiimsrm said to her, ‘A raven took away my salmon and also my eye, and so I did not get any wood.” Then his wife said, “I will make a new eye for you, better than the old one.”” 'Txiimsrm went up to his house with his sore eye. His wife went up to the place where he lay, and said, “I will wash your eye-socket.”” She took water, washed his eye, and made a new one for him, so that it was better than before. Txiimsem was very glad, 78 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 for he had a new eye, and he loved his wife very much. The woman loved him really until their salmon was all dried. Then Txiimsem went into the river and clubbed all the salmon. He built two large houses, and filled them with good dried salmon. Now TxiimsEm’s food became plentiful, for his wife was drying sal- mon, and she was roasting some of them. Their three houses were full, and there was no place where Txiimsem did not put away the dried salmon. Bright-Cloud Woman did thus so many times throughout the year, that there was no room for any more dried salmon. All the storehouses of Tximsem were full of bundles of good dried salmon. Therefore they ceased to make more dried salmon. On the following day he went and took a walk on the sandy beach next to the house. Bright-Cloud Woman staid at home. In the afternoon Txiimsem came home, and his wife stepped up to him and asked him whether he wanted his supper. When Txiimsrzm said “Yes,” Bright-Cloud Woman gave him to eat. The following morning he went out very early, and came back in the evening. His kind wife was ready to give him supper. For four days they acted this way. Then Tximsem became proud because he had so much food. He spoke angrily to his wife when he came home late in the evening. Finally he asked his wife, ‘Did any one visit you while I was away?” Thus spoke Tximsrem to his fair wife. Then his good wife spoke with kindly words. ‘‘O master, what do you think! Who should visit me in this lonely place?” But Tximsem was angry. Bright-Cloud Woman said to her husband, “Have pity on me, my dear! No stranger has done any mischief to me. I love you most.”” Thus said Bright-Cloud Woman to her husband. Then Txiimsrm said, “I have been gambling every day, and at one time IT was always gaining; but now I am losing everything I have. So I know that some man is visiting you.” Thus spoke Txiimsrm to his wife. The good woman wept. TximsrEm arose, went out, and his wife followed him secretly. Tximsrm had gone to the first point where he sat down and was gambling with a stump. Bright- Cloud Woman came secretly to where he was, and saw her husband gambling with the large stump. She went away secretly. In the evening TximsrEm came home to his kind wife in a rage. One day Tximsrem dressed up. He was going to take a walk. His wife combed his hair as she used to do every morning. He arose, and tried to go out; but the backbone of the spring salmon caught in his hair, and he scolded it. He took it and threw it into the corner of the house, saying, ‘‘ You come from the naked body of a woman, and you catch my hair!” Bright-Cloud Woman just hung her head and cried, but Tximsem laughed at his wife and went out. Just before evening Tximsem came in, and again the backbone of the spring salmon caught in his long blond hair. Tximsem was very BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 79 angry, and threw it into the corner of the house. He said again, “You come from the naked body of a woman, and you catch my long blond hair!” Bright-Cloud Woman arose at once. She said to the dried Salmon, ‘“‘Come, my tribe, let us go back!” Thus she said to them. She stood up and whistied. Then all the dried Salmon flew out of the house; and while the dried Salmon were flying away, Txiimsrm’s blond hair became scorched and turned back to its own natural color, and his own rough skin came back again. And while his blond hair was being scorched, he tried to take hold of its end, and said, ‘‘You should not do that, hair;” and he was uglier than before. Then Bright-Cloud Woman started, and led her tribe, the dried Salmon, and they all went into the water. TximsEm tried to put his arms around his wife, but her body was like smoke, and his arms went through her, for she was a cloud. TximsEm came to be very poor, and had nothing to eat and was very hungry. He was there all alone, no one to comfort him. He had lost all his provisions, and his beautiful wife had gone. His blond hair was scorched, and his soft white skin had become rough again. He sat down in the house, weeping and sorrowful on account of the things he had lost. (23) TXA’MSEM MAKES WAR ON THE SOUTH WIND * Tximsrem continued to live alone in his little hut. It had been bad weather all the time since his wife had left him, for the south wind was blowing hard, and he could not get anything to eat. All the people were also unable to get their food, and they were starving. They were also unable to get any fish; for the halibut, red cod, black cod, and others would not bite, and the fishermen could not get any bait on account of the bad weather. They all were very much distressed. Txiimsrm’s eyes were sore on account of the smoke which the south wind blew down through the smoke hole, and which filled his little hut. Then Tximsrm called all the Fish. When they were in his house, he said, ‘‘O my father’s tribe! let us consider if we can not get something to eat, the weather always being so bad! We shall soon die of starvation if we always stay at home on account of the bad weather.’’ Then the Devilfish arose, and said at once, ‘‘O chief! I will speak what is in my mind. Let us go and make war against the Master Of The South Wind, that we may not all die of starvation!” Then the Halibut also arose, and said, “I am much pleased with what my friend said. Let us go and make war against him, lest we and our children die!’’ The Fish agreed to go and make war against the Master Of The South Wind.” Then the Devilfish also said, ‘‘ Let us borrow the canoe of our brother Killer Whale, for he has astrong canoe, which can be usedinagale!” The Fish consented, 1 The form of the following story is influenced by the Kwakiutl tale printed in Boas and Hunt, Kwakiut Texts (Publications of the Jesup North Pacific Expedition, vol. 1, p. 350).—Notes, p. 658.—F. B. 80 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 and he sent the Red Cod to borrow the canoe of the Killer Whale. The chief of the Killer Whales gave it to them, and they took it home. Then the Halibut arose, and stood up before TximsEm, and said, “‘T come to tell you the wishes of our people, what they want you to do, dear Tximsem! They say that you shall devise a way how we | can make war against the Master Of The South Wind.” So TximsrEm said to him, ‘‘Go and ask my brothers to get ready; we will go tomor- row;” and the Halibut went to report to the people what TxamsEm had said. Then Txiimsem begged his companions, Devilfish and Halibut, to sit in the stern of the canoe. When they were all aboard the large Killer-Whale canoe, one of the shellfish was also among the number. It was Cockle. Cockle decided to kick the Master Of The South Wind down the beach when they arrived there. Early in the morning they launched their canoe, and all the people went aboard. The Devilfish and the Halibut were sitting in the stern, and the Cockle and Red Cod in the bow, to watch any danger that might come to them on their way. Then Killer Whale went against the South Wind, going southward toward the town of the Master Of The South Wind. They were going a long time, and the Cockle always said, “I will kick the Master Of The South Wind down to the beach when we get there.” Txiimsrem heard what Cockle said; and when they saw the village, TximsEm advised his three companions, Devil- fish, Halibut, and Cockle: ‘‘You shall go ashore first, and we others will stay in the canoe with the whole crew. Your companion Halibut shall le down at the door of the house of the Master Of The South Wind. Devilfish shall hide on one side of the door, so that he may suck out the Master Of The South Wind, who shall then slip on the Halibut when the Cockle kicks.him down the beach in front of his house.” Thus spoke TxiimsEm. Then he stopped speaking, for he had arrived at the beach in front of the house of the Master Of The South Wind. Halibut went ashore first, and lay down at the door of the house of the Master Of The South Wind. Devilfish remained sitting in the canoe. Then Cockle jumped out of the canoe and went to the door of the house. There he opened his shell when he entered the house. He saw the Master Of The South Wind lying with his back toward the door of the house; and he was always breaking wind, therefore the south wind was blowing hard all the time. The Cockle tried to go toward the Master Of The South Wind. , He opened his shell and tried to kick the Master Of The South Wind, but in vain. He tried in every way, but could not do it. Finally Tximsrm called him down, so the Cockle went down to the canoe. Tximsrem took him up and broke him. He said to him, while he was breaking him, “T will break this braggart,” and he ate him. Then Red Cod jumped into the house. He took his fire-drill and drilled. Soon he obtained fire. He took red-cedar bark from under his blanket and put it on Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 81 the burning fire. Thus he made a thick smoke in the house of the Master Of The South Wind. The Master Of The South Wind began to cough and to sneeze. Then Red Cod jumped out again. Now the chief, the Master Of The South Wind, coughed and sneezed very hard. He arose, and kept going backward, on andon. Hestumbled because he was coughing so hard. He came to the door of his house; and when he stepped on the Halibut, he slipped on him, and slid right down to the Killer-Whale canoe. Then Devilfish sucked, and kept him from going back. Tximsrm said to his people, ‘‘ Kill him with stones, kill him right away!’ Thus spoke TximsEm to his com- panions. Then he spoke again, and said, “‘Go on, warriors, club and kill him!” Then the chief, the Master Of The South Wind, spoke at once, and said, ‘‘O Chief Txiimsem! why do you intend to do this to me?” TxaémsEm said at once, ‘“‘O chief, Master Of The South Wind! I do this because we always have bad weather.’’? Then the Master Of The South Wind spoke again, and said, ‘‘ There shall be alternately one fine day and one bad day.”’ Tximsrm said at once, ‘ Kill him! for what is the use of one day fine and another bad weather? What does that help us?” Then the chief, the Master Of The South Wind, spoke again, and said, ‘‘There shall be two good days in succession.” TximseEm said, ‘‘I don’t want that, either. Go on, kill him!” Thus spoke TxiimsEm to his warriors. Then the chief, the Master Of The South Wind, said, “‘It shall always be summer in your world.” TxiimsEm said, ‘‘That is too much. It is enough to have four days fine weather at a time.’’ Thus said Tximsrm to the chief, the Master Of The South Wind. Then TximsEm said again, ‘“‘O chief, Master Of The South Wind! don’t lie, else we shall come again and make war on you.” Now, Devilfish let go of him. He went up to the beach, and entered his house. Tximsrm called Halibut and Devilfish and Red Cod. They all went aboard the canoe and returned home. When they arrived on the beach of Tximskm’s house, Tximsem said at once, ‘‘Go to your places, for I have been to make war against the Master Of The South Wind, and he promised that it would be good weather for four days at a time.”” Thus spoke Tximsrm to them before they left him. Each went to his own house. Soon some went to dig clams, others went to get bait; and others went to search for their own kind of food. Still others went fishing; and therefore nowadays we have good weather in our world. (24) TXA’MSEM MAKES A GIRL SICK AND THEN CURES HER! TxdémsEm went on, not knowing which way to turn. He was very hungry, staying in a lonely place. After a while he came to the end of alarge town. He saw many people walking about, and he was afraid to let himself be seen. Tximsrm sat down there; and on the follow- 1 Notes, p. 722. 50633°—31 ETH—16——6 82 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 ing day, while he was still sitting there, he saw a large canoe being launched on the beach. Aboard were many young women who went to pick blueberries. Then Txiimsrm thought how he could enter the great town. Finally it occurred to him to catch a deer. He went into the woods and caught a deer, skinned it, put on the skin, and then swam in front of the large canoe which was full of young women who were going to pick blueberries. Among them was a young princess, the daughter of the master of that large town. Tximsrm saw that she was among the young women. She was sitting near the middle of the large canoe, between two women. Now, they saw the stag swimming along in front of the canoe. Then the princess said to her companions, ‘‘Let us pursue him!’’ They did so They paddled along, and soon they caught and killed the stag, and took him into the canoe. TximsEm thought, ‘‘Let them put me down in front of the princess!’ and then they took him into the canoe and placed him in front of the princess, as Txiimsrm had wished them to do. Then they paddled along toward the place where the blue- berries were. Before they reached the blueberry-patch, the deer moved his hind leg and kicked the princess in the stomach. Then he leaped out of the canoe and ran into the woods. The princess fainted when she received the wound, and therefore the young women turned back and went home. The princess became worse as they went along. Finally they reached the beach in front of the house of the head chief. They told the people what had happened to them on their journey. Then they took the princess up to her father’s house. A great number of people were following them. The chief was very sorrowful because his only daughter was hurt. He called together all the wise men, and asked them what he should do to cure his daughter. The wise men told him to gather all the shamans, and let them try to cure her wound. There was a wound under her ribs made by the hind leg of the deer. Then the chief ordered his attendants to call all the shamans. The attendants went and called all the shamans. They gathered in the chief’s great house. Then the shamans worked over her with their supernatural powers, but they all failed. The wound could not be cured by the super- natural powers of the shamans. The girl became worse and worse, until she was very ill. Still the shamans worked on, day and night. Three days had passed, and the many shamans had been working in vain. On the fourth day, behold! before the evening set in a canoe filled with young men came to town. They came ashore, and some people went down to meet them. Then the people who were going down saw a shaman sitting in the middle of the canoe. They went up quickly and told the chief that a shaman had come to town. Therefore the chief sent to him, asking him to cure his only daughter. (This shaman was Txiimsrkm, and the crew of his canoe were his Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 83 grandchildren the Crows.) In the evening, when he came in, he saw the princess lying there very ill, for he had hurt her a few days before; and all the shamans who had failed before were sitting along the wall on one side of the house. Tximsrem pretended to be a shaman. He sat down near the head of the princess, who was lying down; and all the young men followed him, carrying a large box which contained his magic powers. He took charcoal and rubbed it on his face, and rubbed ashes over it. He put on the crown of bears’ claws, placed a ring of red-cedar bark around his neck, and put on his shaman’s dancing-apron, and took up his large shaman’s rattle. He started with beating of the drum; and after the drumming and beating, he began his song; and when they were singing, they pronounced these words: “Let the mighty hail fall on the roof of this chief’s house, On the roof of this chief’s house, On the roof of this chief’s house! ”’ and as the singers pronounced these words, hail beat on the roof of the chief’s house terribly. (Before Tximsrm arrived in the town, he had ordered some of his grandchildren the Crows to take each a small white stone in his mouth, and said, ‘‘When we pronounce the words of our song, then drop the stones on the roof of the chief’s house.’ Thus had Txémsem spoken to his grandchildren the Crows, and they had done so.) When the mighty hail ceased, Txdimsrm said, ‘‘Bring me a mat of cedar bark.”” They brought him the mat, and he spread it over the princess to coverher. He himself also went under it with the girl, touched the wound, said, ‘‘Be cured, wound under the right ribs!”’ and so it happened. Then the chief was very glad because his daughter had been cured of her illness. He gave Txiimsrm all kinds of food. Now, the chief spake to the shaman after he had fed him, and said, ‘““Ask me whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” Then he made a promise unto him: ‘Whatever you may ask me, I will give it to you, my dear, good, and true supernatural man,—you, who are possessed of supernatural powers,—for you have succeeded in restormg my only daughter.” Then Tximsrm looked around and smiled. He said, ‘‘What I want is that you should move, and leave for me all the provisions you have; for my young men have nothing, because we have no time to obtain our own provisions, for we are going around all the time healing those who need us.” Then the chief ordered his slaves to go out, and ordered the people to move on the next day. Then the slaves ran out, crying, ‘‘Leave, great tribe, and leave your provisions behind!”’ The people did so. They left in the morning, and left all their food, according to the order of their master. Tximskzm was very glad, because now he had much food. On the following day he took a walk; and while he was absent, his grandchildren assembled, 84 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eTH. ANN. 31 opened many boxes of crabapples mixed with grease, and ate them all. When Tximskm came home from his walk, behold! he saw all the empty boxes, and he knew that his grandchildren had done this. (25) TXA’MSEM PRETENDS TO BUILD A CANOE ! Txiimsem did still another thing. After he had visited every country, he found a little hut in which were two women—a widow and her daughter; and the widow was very kind to him, and fed him with many kinds of food. After Txiimsrm had eaten, he said to the widow, ‘I will marry your daughter,” and the widow agreed. Then Txiimsem was glad that the widow’s daughter was to marry him, for the widow’s house was full of all kinds of food. The young woman who was the wife of TximsEm was very beautiful. After a while TximseEm said to his young wife, ‘Now, my dear, you know that I love you very much, and therefore I shall build a nice little canoe for your mother. I shall go away tomorrow to look for red cedar. Then I will build a canoe for her. I want you to get ready, for I want to start early in the morning.” Then the young woman repeated this to her mother. Early the next morning the mother- in-law arose and prepared breakfast for her son-in-law. When it was ready she called her son-in-law. TximsrEm arose and ate his break- fast. Then he went off to search for red cedar. He came back before it was evening, went to his wife, and told her that he had found a very good red cedar of proper size. He said, ‘I will cut it down tomorrow. Then I will cut it the right length for a canoe.’”’ His mother-in-law prepared supper for him, and she cooked all the food she had. After he had eaten his meal, he lay down; and while he was lying there, he whispered to his wife, “When the canoe is finished, I will go around the island. You shall sit in the stern, your mother shall sit in the middle of the canoe, and I will sit in the bow. Then we shall have a happy time.” Thus spoke TxiimsEm to his wife. Next morning he arose, while his mother-in-law prepared his breakfast. After he had taken his meal, he took his mother-in-law’s stone tools and went; and his mother-in-law and his wife heard him cut the tree with his stone ax. They also heard the large cedar tree fall, and after a while they heard also how he was working with the stone ax. He came home before it was evening, weary and sore on account of the hard work that he had been doing all day long. When he came home, he said to his wife, ‘‘Just tell your mother that I want her to boil for me a good dried salmon every evening, for I like the soup of dried salmon. It is very good for a man who is building a canoe.” She did so every evening. When the fourth day came, TxiimsEm told his wife that the canoe was almost finished. By this time his mother-in-law’s pro- visions were nearly spent, and some of her food boxes were empty. 1 Notes, p. 720. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 85 A few days later Txiimsem started again, and on the following morning he went to take along some food for his dinner. Now, the widow said to her daughter, ‘‘Go, my dear daughter, and see how long it may take until your husband has finished the canoe that he is building, but go secretly.” Then her daughter went to the place where her husband was working. Unseen she arrived at the place where he was, and saw him standing at the end of an old rotten cedar tree beating it with a stone ax to make a noise like a man who is working with an ax. His wife saw that there was a large hole in the rotten cedar tree, and therefore it made so much noise when TximsEm was striking it. His wife left. When she came to her mother, she told her all about her husband. Therefore they took the canoe and moved to their tribe. They took away all the provisions that were left. Tximspm went back before it was evening. Before he reached his mother-in-law’s hut he was glad and whistled, because he thought his mother-in-law had prepared his supper for him. But when he went in, he saw that everything was gone. . Nothing remained except empty boxes and a little fire. Then he was hungry again. (26) TXA’MSEM VISITS CHIEF ECHO! Txiimsem remained sitting there, thinking quietly how many hard things he had done among men, still his needs were not satisfied. At last he made up his mind to try to go again to the people in order to get something to eat, for he was a great eater. He went to a lonely place, and was very anxious to find some people in the woods. Soon he came to a great plain. No trees were to be seen, just grass and flowers. At a distance he beheld a large house, and inside the large house with carved front he heard many people singing. He saw sparks flying up from the smoke hole, and he knew that it must be the house of a great chief. When he came near the house, he heard something saying with a loud voice, ‘A stranger is coming, a chief is coming!”’ and he knew that they meant him. So he went in, but he saw nobody. Still he heard the voices. He saw a great fire in the center, and a good new mat was spread out for him alongside the fire. Then he heard a voice which called to him, ‘Sit down on the mat! This way, great chief! This way, great chief! This way!” He walked proudly toward the mat. Then Tximsem sat down on it. This was the house of Chief Echo. Then Tximsrem heard the chief speak to his slaves and tell them to roast a dried salmon; and he saw a carved box open itself and dried salmon come out of it. Then he saw a nice dish walk toward the fire all by itself. Tximsem was scared and astonished to see these things. When the dried sal- mon was roasted and cut into pieces of the right length, the pieces went into the dish all by themselves. The dish laid itself down in 1 Notes, p. 702. 86 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN, 31 front of TxiimsEm, and he thought while he was eating, what strange things he was seeing now. When he had finished, a horn dipper came forward filled with water. He tookit by its handle and drank. Then he saw a large dish full of crabapples mixed with grease, and a black horn spoon, come forward by themselves. Txiims—Em took the handle and ate all he could. Before he emptied his dish, he looked around, and, behold! mountain-goat fat was hanging on one side of the house. He thought, “I will take down one of these large pieces of fat.” Thus TxiimsrEm thought while he was eating. Then he heard many women laughing in one corner of the house, ‘Ha, ha! Tximsem thinks he will take down one of those large pieces of mountain-goat fat!” Then Tximspm was ashamed on account of what the women were saying. He ate all the crabapples, and another dish came forward filled with cranberries mixed with grease and with water. Txiimsem ate again, dnd, behold! he saw dried mountain- sheep fat hanging in one corner of the large house. He thought again, ‘‘T will take down one of these pieces of mountain-sheep fat, and I will run out with it.” Agaim he heard many women laughing, “Ha, ha! Txiimsem is thinking he will take down a piece of the mountain-sheep fat and will run out with it.” Tximsem was much troubled on account of what he heard the women saying, and when he heard them laughing in the corner of the house. He arose, ran out, and snatched one of the pieces of mountain-goat meat and of moun- tain-sheep fat; but when he came to the door, a large stone hammer beat him on the ankle, and he fell to the ground badly hurt. He lost the meat and fat, and some one dragged him along and cast him out. He lay there a while and began to cry, for he was very hungry, and his foot very sore. On the following day, when he was a little better, he took a stick and tried to walk away. (27) TXA’MSEM KILLS LITTLE PITCH?! TxiimsEm went on, not knowing which way to go. He was very weak and hungry, and sore of foot. He went on and on in the woods until he saw a house far off. He went toward it, came near, and entered. There were a man and his wife, a very pretty young woman, there. They permitted him to come in, for they had pity on the poor man who had come to their house. They asked him if he wanted some- thing to eat, and they gave him to eat. Then the young woman tried to cure his ankle, which was hurt by the stone in the house of Chief Echo. He was now in the house of Little Pitch. He came in, and the people were very kind to him. The wife of Little Pitch put pitch on his sore ankle. After two days he was quite well, and he was very glad. The young woman gave him to eat every day. The 1 Notes, p. 683. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 87 house of Little Pitch was full of dried halibut and of all kinds of pro- visions. Txiimsrm made up his mind to kill his friend who had treated him so kindly. On the following evening, after he had eaten his supper, he said to his friend that they would go out the next morning to catch halibut. Little Pitch was willing, and said to TximsEm, ‘‘It is not good for me if I go out fishing in the sun, because I am so weak. I must return home while it is still chilly.” Tximsrm replied, “‘T will do whatever you say, sir. I think we shall have plenty of time.” Thus spoke Txiimsrm. They started for the fishing-ground, and fished all night until daybreak. When the sun rose, Little Pitch wanted to go home; but Txiimsrm said, ‘‘I enjoy fishing. Lie down there in the bow of the canoe, and cover yourself with a mat.’ Little Pitch lay down, and Txiimsem called him, ‘‘Little Pitch!’””—‘‘Hey!”’ he replied. After a while Tximsem called him again, ‘‘Little Pitch!””—‘‘Hey!” he answered again with a loud voice. TximsEm called him once more, ‘‘Little Pitch!’”’ Then he answered ‘‘Hey!”’ in a low voice. Tximsrm called him still again. He answered, ‘Hey, hey!” with a very weak voice. ‘‘Now I will pull up my fishing-lines,” said Tximsrem; and after he had hauled his lines into the canoe, he paddled away home. Txiimsrm paddled very hard. He called again, ‘‘Little Pitch!” but there was no answer; so he went to see what had happened to Little Pitch. As soon as he touched the mat that covered Little Pitch, behold! pitch was running out all over the halibut. Little Pitch was dead, and melted pitch ran all over the halibut. Therefore the halibut is black on one side. , Txiimsrm was very glad. He paddled along until he reached. the shore in front of Little Pitch’s house, expecting to get a good supper from Little Pitch’s wife. He took the line, tied up his canoe, and went up, glad in his heart. He went on and on, but could not find any house. He searched everywhere, but could not find it. Only a little green spruce tree was standing there, with a drop of pitch upon one side. Finally Tximsem remembered that his canoe was full of halibut; so he went down to the beach, being very hungry, but he could not find his canoe. Only a spruce log with roots was there. Then Tximsem felt very badly. (28) TXA’MSEM KILLS GRIZZLY BEAR! There was no food with which Txiimsrm could satisfy his hunger. He began to cry, for he was very hungry; and he went on, not knowing which way to go. Finally he arrived on one side of a large bay, and saw a small house on the other side, and a small canoe on the beach in front of the house. TxiimsEm went toward the house, and entered. In the house was an old man with his two wives. The house was full 1 Notes, p. 680. 88 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 of dried fish—halibut and other kinds—and of dried meat of mountain goat, and there were fat and all kinds of dried berries. They spread a mat out, and let Tximsrm sit on it. They gave him some of the good food they had; and while Txiimszm was eating his meal, he said to his new friend, ‘‘Sir, may I join you tomorrow, when you go out to catch halibut?” Chief Grizzly Bear said that he had no bait; but Tximsem replied, ‘‘We shall have bait from our own bodies.” So Chief Bear consented, and they went to bed. When Txiimsem knew that they were all asleep, he went out secretly to the creek, caught a cohoes salmon, and cut off its tail. Early the folowing morning Tximsrm went down first, launched Chief Grizzly Bear’s canoe, and then the chief also went down. They started for the fishing-bank. When they reached the fishing-ground, TximsEm pretended to cut off part of his belly, and to tie it on to his hook for bait. Grizzly Bear saw it, but he was afraid to do the same. Grizzly Bear was surprised when he saw what TxiimsEm was doing. Then TxiimsEm urged him, saying, ‘‘Go on! do the same,”’ but Grizzly was afraid to do so. Then Tximsrm forced him to do so. He threw his knife to Grizzly Bear, and Grizzly Bear took the knife and cut off part of his own body. Soon he fainted. When he felt that he was dying, he rushed at Txiimsrm, trying to kill him; but TxiimsEem jumped out and clung to the bottom of the canoe. When he heard that Grizzly Bear was dead, he went back into the canoe. Then he went ashore and hurried toward the house. He said to the two female Grizzly Bears, ‘‘Your husband has fainted, and he will die. If you want to bring him back to life, bring me two stones.” Then the two women went, and brought each a small stone. Tximsrm put these stones into the fire, and, when they were red-hot, he told the women each to swallow one. The female Grizzly Bears trusted him. When the stones were red-hot, Tximszm took two wooden tongs, took up the stones, and said to each of the women, ‘‘Now, dear chieftainess, open your mouth and close your eyes!”’? They did so, and Tximsrm put the hot stones into their mouths. Then they tumbled about, and Tximsrm struck them until they were dead. Thus Txiimsem killed three Grizzly Bears in one day. He went down to the beach at once and took out of the canoe the Grizzly Bear that he had killed. He cut it up first, and then his two wives. TximsEm staid there many days. He had a good time, and ate all he wanted every day. (29) TXA’/MSEM KILLS DEER! When Tximsrm had eaten the provisions of the Grizzly Bear, he went on, not knowing where to go. Soon he came to the mouth of the creek where there were humpback salmon. He saw a little hut on 1 Notes, p. 703. noas] . TSIMSHIAN MYTHS . 89 the other side. He went to it, and saw a man and his wife, two per- sons, in the house. Tx&imsrm went in, and sat down on one side of the fire. These persons were smoking humpback salmon, and they fed Tximsrem with good food; and while TximsEm was eating, he said to his new friend, ‘‘O brother-in-law! (he called the Deer his brother-in-law) let us go tomorrow and cut wood, for you have no good wood fit for smoking salmon. I know what kind of wood you need for your salmon.” The Deer trusted him, and on the following morning they went out. Txiimsrem saw a rotten hemlock tree, which, as he said, would make good wood for his brother-in-law to dry salmon with. Therefore the people now know that this kind of wood is good for smoking salmon. TximsEm cut down one of the trees, and cut the wood of right lengths. While he was splitting the wood, his wedges jumped out. He tried it again, but the wedges jumped out again. When his brother-in-law saw the wedges jump out often, he stepped up to him and took hold of the wedges. When the Deer took off his hands, the wedges jumped out again. ‘‘Take hold of them again!’ said TximsEm to his brother-in-law. ‘‘Come a little nearer!” He did so. ‘‘Don’t be afraid, brother-in-law!”’ So the poor Deer put his head close to the wedges. Then Txiimsem struck the wedges with his stone hammer, and said to the Deer, “Come a little nearer to the wedges!”’ for the wedges always jumped out. Then the Deer was afraid. Tximsrm said, ‘‘Don’t be afraid! IT won’t hurt you.” So the Deer put his head quite close to the wedges; and while TxiimsEm was striking them with his hammer, he sang out, ‘‘ Wo wu, wo wu, wo wu!’ After he had done so, he hit the Deer’s head, and the Deer fell down dead. Tximsrem made a fire, and put flat stones in it. He made a hole in the ground, and when the flat stones were red-hot, he gathered leaves of the skunk- cabbage, cut up the fat deer, and putit on the hot stones. He put the cover on, and put water on the hot stones to steam the meat in the hole. When he uncovered the fat meat that he had cooked, he was very happy. Tximsrem saw a large stump‘ which was lying near the hole. Then he took part of the fat meat, shook it at the big Stump; and said to the Stump, ‘‘ Wouldn’t you like to have my fat meat, old Stump?’ He did so many times. After he had eaten, he went to get some more leaves of the skunk-cabbage, which were to serve as his dish. After he had left, the great Stump moved, and sat down on top of the hole where the meat was. Now Tximsrm returned. Behold! the Stump was on top of his meat. He cried aloud on account of his food. Txiimsem went up to the Stump, and said, “Just sit alittle farther, friend! I will eat with you of my fat meat.’’ He did all he could to move the great Stump. ‘Just sit a 1 See p. 68. 90 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN, 31 little farther off, and I will eat with you, dear friend! Oh, have pity on me, dear friend!”’ Finally, when the Stump had eaten all the fat meat, he moved off from the hole, and Txiimsrm saw that only bare bones were left in the hole. He took these bare bones, broke them to find something in them, and cried. In the evening he went into his canoe. He put black paint on his face, and paddled along, singing— : ** Hi, hi, hi! a great party of wolves metus on our way home and killed my grandfather! Hi, hi, hi! a great party of wolves met us on our way home and killed my brother-in- law! O my grandfather!”’ The Deer’s wife was standing in front of their house. Soon TxiimszEm came to the beach, and she asked him, “What has happened to you?” Tximsrm was still crying— “Ti, hi, hi! a great party of wolves met us on our way home and killed my grandfather! Hi, hi, hi! a great party of wolves met us on our way home and killed my brother-in- law! O my grandfather! ”’ Then the Deer’s wife shook her little short tail and ran away from him. Txiimsrm went into the house of the Deer, and ate all the provisions in the house. (30) TXA’MSEM IMITATES CHIEF SEAL! After Txiimsrm had eaten everything, he went on again. He came to along point, and, behold! there wasa house. He entered, for he was very hungry. This was the house of the Seal. Chief Seal spread a new mat, and Tximsrm sat down on it. Then Seal roasted a dried salmon, put it in a dish, and placed it before Tximsrm. Seal took another dish and placed it near the fire. Then he held up both his hands close to the fire, with the back of his hands toward the fire, so that they grew warm, and oil dripped from his fingers and ran into the dish, which he gave to Tximsrm to dip the salmon into. Txiimsem dipped his salmon into the oil and ate. Then he took a dish and filled it with seal blubber, and he put more oil over it. TxiimsEm was very glad, for he had eaten enough in the house of the Seal. Then he left. He built a house; and when he had finished it, he invited the Seal to his new house. The Seal came to visit him, and sat down in the rear of the house. Txiimsrm took a dish and placed it near the fire. He held up his hands, so that they grew warm, and his fingers, eyes, and mouth were scorched. Txiimsrm fell back like one dead, and he lay there a long time. Then the Seal arose. There was no oil in the dish. He said, ‘Oh, he tries to do what 1 Notes, pp. 694, 696. BROAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 91 I do!”’ Tximsem was much ashamed. He arose, went into the woods, found some pitch, and put it on his fingers. People say that in olden times all the joints of man’s or woman’s fingers had eyes and mouths until Txiimsrem held up his hands when he invited Chief Seal into his house, and that man’s fingers have had no eyes and no mouths since; when people ate food in those days, the fingers also ate. (31) TXA’MSEM IMITATES CHIEF KINGFISHER ! Again TxiimsEm went on. He came to a creek, and saw a house in front of him. Itwas avery nice house. He went toward it; and when he went in, he saw a good-looking younz man who was making a hook. When Tximsrm entered, the young man looked at him, arose hastily, and spread a new mat on the floor. Then the young man went and fetched a pail of water. He took a nice dish, and roasted a dried salmon. He put it into the dish, and placed it before Tximsrm. This young man was Chief Kingfisher. He had large stores of all kinds of provisions, and gave nearly everything to Txiimsem. At last he took a nice dish and stretched his foot out over it. Then he took a smooth stone, struck his ankle, and salmon eggs poured out of it and filled the dish. He placed it before Tximsrm, gave him a wooden spoon, and Txiimsrm ate it all and was very much pleased. He left the house of Kingfisher when he had had enough. Then he thought that he would invite his friend to visit him. Now, Tximsem built a house better than that of young Kingfisher. When he had finished it, he invited Kingfisher, who sat down along- side the fire. Txiimsrm took a dish, stretched out his foot over the dish, took a smooth stone and struck his ankle. He fell back, and said, “Oh, I am almost dead!”’ Then young Kingfisher flew away from him, and Txiimsrm was very much ashamed. His foot was sore and swollen, and he lay there a long time until it became well again. (32) TXA/MSEM IMITATES THE THRUSH 1 Again he went, not knowing which way to turn. He came to a large river where there were many salmonberry bushes. There was a house, and Tximsrm went toward it. There he saw a fine- looking man, the Thrush, who invited Tximsem to come in. The good-looking young man took some dried salmon, roasted them, put them in a dish, and placed them before Tximsrm, who ate. When he had finished eating salmon, he drank water. Then Thrush took a nice clean dish, wiped it out, arose, and took it up to the smoke hole. Then he sang— “ Miyu gumik gumik gumik gumik!”’ 1 Notes, pp. 694, 696. 992 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 After he had done so four times, he placed the dish before Tximsrm. It was full of red and yellow salmonberries, which Tximsem enjoyed very much. He ate them all. Then he thought again that he would do the same; and while the young man was busy, Tximsrem secretly took some of the unripe salmonberries, put them into his left hand, and as soon as he had left the house, he built a house for himself and invited the Thrush to his new home. When his guest came in, he sat down on one side of Txiimsem’s house. TxiéimsEem took a dish, lifted it up to the smoke hole, and put into it the unripe salmonberries that he had taken away from Thrush’s house. He held up the dish and said, “ Miga, miga!”” He said so very often, but there remained just as many unripe salmonberries in his dish as he had put in, and Txim- srm’s hands were tired from holding up the dish. He placed it before the Thrush, who arose, saying, “ You tried to imitate me.’’ Then TxiimsEm was ashamed. He sat down in his house. (33) TXA’MSEM AND CORMORANT! Txiimsem went on again, not knowing which way to turn. He went toward the sea; and, behold! he saw a house some distance away. He came near, entered, and sat down on one side of the fire. A man was there with his wife. This was the house of Chief Cormorant. The man’s wife arose and roasted dried salmon by the fire. She put it into a dish and placed it before TxiimsEm, who ate itall. She uncoy- ered steamed halibut and seal meat, put it into a dish, and gave it to Txiimsem, who ate it all. The house of Chief Cormorant was full of dried halibut and dried seal meat. After Txiimsem had eaten, he said to Chief Cormorant, ‘‘Dear chief, let us go tomorrow to catch halibut!’ Thus spoke Tximsem to Chief Cormorant. The chief replied at once, and said, ‘‘We will go tomorrow morning,” and in the evening they prepared their hooks and fishing-lines. Night came, and before it was daylight Tximsrm arose and called Chief Cor- morant. Chief Cormorant awoke at once and arose. They went aboard the canoe, and paddled to the fishing-ground, each with a mat on his knees. As soon as they came to the fishing-ground, they baited their hooks and threw the lines into the water. When the fishing-lines touched the bottom, Chief Cormorant had a bite from a halibut at once, and hauled up his line with a halibut at each end.? He clubbed them and took them into the canoe. Then he threw his fish-lme back into the water. Immediately he had another bite from two halibut. He hauled up his line and clubbed them again. Tximsrem felt very bad because he did not get a bite from the hali- but. Chief Cormorant threw out his line again; and when his hooks touched the bottom, he had another bite. Then he hauled up the 1 Notes, p. 678. 2 The halibut-line is provided with a crosspiece, to each end of which a hook is attached. F. B. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 93 halibut and clubbed them. Chief Cormorant had not been there long when his boat was full of large halibut, and all the halibut had their heads toward Chief Cormorant; but Tximsrm caught no halibut at all, while the chief was filling his canoe with fish. The chief said to Txiimsmm, ‘‘Let us go home, for we have enough halibut!”’ Then they hauled up their lines and paddled home with their canoe full of halibut. Now Tximsrm was silent. Then Chief Cormorant said to his friend, ‘‘I will give you some of my halibut;” and Txiimsrm said to Cormorant, ‘‘Let us go ashore and refresh ourselves!’’? So they went ashore to refresh themselves. When they reached the beach, they stepped out of their canoe, and the sun shone on the sandy beach. Now, Txiimsem said to Cormorant, ‘‘Just stand still! Isee a large louse on the back of your head.” So the Cormorant stood there, while Txiimsem went toward him. He said, ‘“‘Ha! I caught your big louse. Now put out your tongue, that I may put your louse on it!’”’ The Cormorant put his tongue way out; and while he was doing so, TxiimsEem took hold of the tongue and tore it out. Then Cor- morant tried to speak; but he could not, for he had no tongue. Txiimsrm went down to the canoe, and the poor Cormorant came down and went aboard the canoe, unable to talk. Many times he tried to speak, but Txiimsrem did not understand him. Txiimsem paddled back home. When they arrived at the beach of Cor- morant’s town, the people came down and saw that the canoe was full of halibut; but Chief Cormorant was lying in the bow of the canoe, covered with a mat. They questioned him, and asked, ‘‘What is the matter with you, chief?”” Then Txiimsrm lied, saying that Chief Cormorant had not caught any halibut; that therefore he had put his own hook into his mouth, and had torn out his own tongue. The people took off the mats that covered Chief Cormorant, and saw that his tongue was lost. The people questioned him. He tried to speak, but they did not understand him. Then Chief Cormorant made signs with his fingers, and thus told his people that Tximsem had torn out his tongue on their way back from the fishing-ground, because Txiimsem had caught nothing. Chief Cormorant’s mouth was full of blood; therefore all his people assembled and flew around Txiimsrm, and struck at his cheeks with their wings, and some of them scratched his head with their claws, and pecked at his eyes with their bills. Txiimsem tried to escape; but the Cormorants were so many, that he was unable to do so. At last he put on his raven garment and flew away through the smoke hole, crying, ‘‘Caw, caw, caw!’’ He went away, starving and hun- ery. For this reason the Cormorant can not speak distinctly nowa- days. As Txiimsem had cursed them, therefore all the cormorants have black feathers now. He himself was badly bruised all over his body. 94 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN, 31 (34) TXA’/MSEM AND THE WOLVES! TxiimsEm went on again in the woods, lonely, without any friends. There was no meat for him to eat. At last he came out of the forest at a place where a house was standing in the valley. Tximsrem went toward it. Before he arrived there, the sound of the voices of young men met him proceeding from the house. They asked him where he came from and where he was going. Tximsrm replied, saying that he was out hunting, and the young men were glad to learn that he was a hunter. Therefore they invited him in. Many people were in the house. They spread mats on one side of the large fire. Tximsrm sat down and looked around, and he saw that the house was full of all kinds of meat. There was some fresh meat. He smiled when he was looking around. Then they roasted dried salmon, and put it in a dish and placed it in front of Txiims—em. Heate. The next course was boiled dried meat, and then fresh meat steamed in a hole in the ground. This was the house of Chief Wolf and of his people. Txiim- sem was afraid. On the followmg day Chief Wolf said to his hunt- ers, ‘‘Bring me some fresh meat tomorrow, while our friend is staying with us!” Then all the young people got ready for the fol- lowing morning; and early in the morning they started, as soon as the sun rose. They came home one by one, bringing all kinds of animals. Some brought mountain goats, some venison, some black bear, some geese, and so on. Tximsrm did not know what to do, for he was afraid of the Wolves. He tried often to obtain all those provisions which he saw in the house of the chief of the Wolves. The Wolves did not sleep in the night, and they smelt everything; therefore Tximsrm could not deceive them. On the following day Txiimsrm intended to leave them for a while, and he said he would be back after a few days. He told Chief Wolf that he was going for his hunting-gear. Chief Wolf ordered his servants to fill a big bag with fat meat, which he was going to give to his friend to eat on his way. On the following morning he started. He had not gone long before he had eaten all the fat meat in his bag. (35) TXA’MSEM AND CHIEF GROUSE? Then Txiimsem climbed a mountain and saw a house on the other side. He went up to it secretly and looked in through a knot-hole. Behold! there were a woman and her two children. He left secretly, and went a little farther back and sat there a while. Then three Crows whom TxiimsEm had called came to him. He was going to pretend that one of the Crows was his wife and the two others were his children; so they went together toward the little house. Before they reached there, behold! a hunter came down with fresh meat of mountain goats, and the two children of the hunter came forth to 1 Notes, p. 720. 2 Notes, p. 716. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 95 meet their father. This was the house of Chief Grouse. The two children remained outside while the father went in. The children saw aman, his wife, and his two children coming along toward them. Then they ran in and told their parents that a stranger was coming to them, and their parents were ready to receive him. Chief Grouse invited in the visitor and his family. They went in, and Grouse gave them food until they all had had enough. Txiimsrm said that he would camp with them for a while, and Chief Grouse agreed. Early the following morning Chief Grouse arose and began to make arrows and darts. He made many; and on the following day Chief Grouse went, and Txiimsrm went also. In the evening Txiimsem came home first. He had caught nothing. Late in the evening Chief Grouse came home with an abundance of meat of mountain goats and with fat, and his children were very glad because their father had brought them fat food—the fat of the intestines of mountain goats and the fat of kidneys. TxiimsEm’s children were very anxious to have some of the fresh meat and fat. On the following day Chief Grouse made more arrows and darts. When he had finished them, he went again, leaving very early. On the following morning TxiimsEm also started. He followed Chief Grouse secretly ; and when Chief Grouse arrived at the foot of a great steep cliff, he stood there with his bow in his hand, ready to shoot. He began to shoot his arrows at the cracks of the cliff, and Txiimsrm saw what he was doing. After Chief Grouse had shot all his new arrows, he shouted four times; and all of a sudden a bright young man stood by his side, and Chief Grouse stood still by the side of the bright young man. Then the bright young man questioned Chief Grouse: “Whose arrows are these ?’”’—‘‘O dearest supernatural helper! all these are your arrows.” Then the bright young man vanished from the sight of Chief Grouse; and, behold! a mountain goat fell from the high cliff down to the place where Grouse was standing. After Txiimsrem had seen this, he went away secretly. Chief Grouse got four large mountain goats. He cut them up, and late in the evening he came home with all the fat of the mountain goats. Again his people welcomed their father gladly, because he came home with much fresh meat. Chief Grouse fed TxiimsEm and his family with the fresh meat and fat. Then TxiimsEm questioned Chief Grouse: “Are you going to hunt tomorrow ?”’—‘‘ No, I shall not go,”’ answered Chief Grouse. ‘“‘ Well,”’ said Txiimsrm, “I will go myself tomorrow early in the morning.” Early the next morning Tximsrem went out right to the place where Chief Grouse had gone the other day, and he began to shoot his new arrows. When he had finished shooting, he shouted with all his might at the foot of the high cliff. He shouted four times, and immediately a bright young man stood by his side. He asked 96 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ETH. ANN. 31 Tximsrem, ‘‘Whose darts and arrows are these?’? and Tximsem stood there speechless. He did not know what to answer to the young man. The bright young man asked him again, “Whose darts and arrows are these?”’ Tximsrm was doubtful what to answer, for he had not heard what Chief Grouse had answered when the supernatural being was standing at his side the day before. Txiimszm replied after the second question, “‘These are my own darts and arrows, my own, my own tsidan, Raven’s tsidan, his own tsidan.””! Then the supernatural bright young man was angry, because TxiimsEem was proud and had not answered the right way. He said to TximsEm, ‘I shall break your bad arrows,’’ and he threw them down the steep rock. Then the bright young man vanished from his side, and Txiimsrm turned back. He had not a single arrow left. He had only his bow and his hunting-knife. He felt very bad, turned back, and cut his own belly with his knife. He took out part of his own intestines, and put them around his walking-staff. Late in the evening he came home, and his children were glad when their father came home with his staff with the intestines wound around it. Then the children sang a song— “Only my father brought home intestines of wild animals!”’ Then they unwrapped the intestines from the staff, and TxiimsEem was sitting down by the side of the fire without a word, looking at his children while they were unwrapping the intestines from the staff. Soon the children had taken off the intestines, and they threw them on the fire to cook them; and as soon as they were scorched, Txiimsrm fell back fainting. Therefore his wife and his two children flew away from him. Thus Chief Grouse perceived that it was Tximsrem. He took his dead body and threw it down the steep mountain. After Txiimsrm had lain there a while, he came back to life, arose, and sat down at the foot of the high cliff. He felt that his belly was empty, for he had no intestines. Therefore the raven has no intes- tines now. (36) TXA’MSEM RETURNS TO THE WOLVES? Txiimsem went on, and the wound in his belly pained him much. He went a long way, not knowing which way to turn. Still he remembered his promise to Chief Wolf to return to him soon. Therefore he searched everywhere trying to find the Wolves’ village. After a while he met two hunters, and asked them, ‘ Will you tell me where the village of Chief Wolf is?”” The two young men said, ‘We belong to Chief Wolf’s people.” —“ Will you take me to him ?””—“‘ Yes,” replied the two hunters, ‘‘come and go with us!” Tximsrm was 1 The meaning of this word is unknown to me.—F. B. 2 Notes, p. 720, Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 97 glad to follow them. They ran as fast as they could, and TximsEm followed them; but he soon was tired of running, for he was very hungry, and his belly gave him pain. Therefore he was very weak, and walked a long time. Before evening set in, the two young men had left him behind, and TximsEm camped in the woods, under a large spruce tree. On the following morning, when he awoke, he tried to get up; but he was very weak, for he had had nothing to eat for three or four days. When the sun rose up in the sky, a little tomtit was flying about near Txiimsem, who called him. Then the little bird came to him. TximsrEm said to him, ‘ Will you kindly tell me where Chief Wolf's town is?” The little Tomtit replied, “Oh, yes! I will do it. Follow me.” Tximsrm thanked him, and said to Tomtit, ‘‘Don’t fly zigzag when we are on our way, for I am very weak, and my body feels heavy, for I have had nothing to eat for four days and a half.”’ So little Tomtit questioned him, and said, “Sir, where have you been ever since?’? Now, Txiimsrm told him his story, and said, ‘“‘I have been in camp with Chief Grouse—his family and my family. We went out hunting every morning, and I always killed many mountain goats, and my partner had none. Therefore he was angry with me, and struck me down with his club, knocking me over the back of my head, and I lay on the ground almost dead. Then he took me by the leg and threw me down the side of a high cliff. He also cut my belly before he threw me down.” Therefore the little bird said, ‘Now let us go!” They went together, the little Tomtit flying all the time, and the big Tximsrm walking slowly after him. Every time the Tomtit jumped, he said, ‘“Tsiap, tstap!” all along their way. When he said “ Tsiap!’’ he meant, “‘This way, old friend!” Before they arrived at the town of Chief Wolf, Tomtit came to TxfimsrEm’s side, and said, ‘‘ Now I will go back home, for I am afraid of the Wolves.” Thus he said to Txiimsem. Txiimskm saw the smoke rising from the village of Chief Wolf, and he was glad to see the smoke yonder. He walked on quickly, and arrived at the end of the village. Some young men came out to meet him; and when they reached him, they ran around him, taking up his scent. Txim- skm was afraid of them, because they were smelling around him. The young men asked him where he came from and where he was going. He replied, “I just intended to visit Chief Wolf’s village, since I promised to come back again, and now I am back here.” The young men continued to ask him, ‘ With whom have you been all this time?”’ Txiimsem said, “I just want to see Chief Wolf.” Then they led him to the house of their chief. As soon as TximsEm entered, all the people in the house raised their noses because they smelled the bloody wound in TxiimsEm’s body. Therefore the chief asked him, ‘What has happened, that your body is filled with i 50633°—31 ETH—16 98 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BrH. ANN. 31 blood?”” Tximsrm replied, saying, “As I was going to get my hunting-gear, I met a person on the way—a man and his wife and his two children. He asked me to accompany him to his hunting- ground. I did so, and went with him. One morning I went hunting with him, and I killed more mountain sheep than he did, and also some black bears. Then I went home to fetch my family to our camp. On the following morning we went again to his hunting- eround, and I killed more than I did before. Therefore he was angry with me, and struck me with his club; and I fell to the ground, and lay there for a while. He also cut my belly and took out my intestines, and he threw me down a steep cliff. I must have lain there a long time; but at last I revived, and I tried to get up, but I was weak. After a while I felt a little better. JT remember that you were a kind friend to me, and so I have come here to see you before I die.” Then Chief Wolf questioned him, and asked, ‘‘ How far is that from here ?’’—“Oh, it is quite a long way off.’’—‘ How many days since it happened?” He answered, “Four or five days ago.’”’—‘‘ Have you had anything to eat since that time ?’’—“Oh, no!” Chief Wolf took pity on Tximsrem when he told his story, and he asked Tximsem whether it was a long way off, because he wanted to take revenge on Txiimspm’s enemy. Chief Wolf believed the deceitful Txiimsem. Now, Chief Wolf ordered his attendants to give his friend Txiimsrem fat food, and they did as the chief had ordered them. They gave him all kinds of rich meat and fat. Therefore Tximsrm became well again, for he was eating rich food every day. He staid among the Wolves for a long time. Every house was full of rich meat and of fat; but he was not satisfied, for he wanted the rich food for himself. So, on the following evening, as soon as he had finished eating, he said to Chief Wolf, “I will go out with your young men when they go out hunting. I think I can do better than they.” Thus he said. Chief Wolf smiled, and said, “All right, friend! JI hope they won’t leave you behind, for my: attend- ants run as quickly as birds fly, so I am afraid that they will leave you behind.” In the evening all the young men made ready for the next day, and very early the followmg morning they started. Txiimsem was up also. They all went, and Txiimsrm accompanied two young Wolves. As soon as they arrived at the foot of one of the high mountains, they looked up, and, behold! the top of the moun- tain was full of mountain sheep. TxiimsEm said to his companions, “T will remain here while you go up there.’”’ The two young Wolves consented. They climbed up one side of the high mountain, trying to get up to the mountain sheep. Soon they arrived there; and the two young Wolves killed almost all of them, and threw them down one side of the high mountain, letting them slide down to TxiimsEm. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 99 When they had thrown down all they had killed, they refreshed themselves; and Txiimsrem gathered all the game, covered it with hemlock leaves, and left only four or five uncovered. When the . two young men had refreshed themselves, they went down, and found very few carcasses. Txiimsem sat there without saying anything. They asked him, “ Are these mountain sheep all that came down ?”’— “Yes, that is all.’ Then the two young men raised their noses to smell, and soon found the pile of hemlock leaves. They scratched them off, and found the animals. Then they asked Txiimsrm, “Who hid those animals here?’’—‘‘ Where?” said he. ‘TI did it, for I was afraid that some one might come and take them away, for you staid away a long time.’’ So they took them all out, and gathered them in one pile. Txiimspm was ashamed. Therefore the two young Wolves went away, howling, until all the Wolves gathered together to carry the carcasses down. They all took them down to the chief’s house. TxiimsEm came down also. Now, Chief Wolf’s house was full of mountain sheep, and all the Wolves were glad. Tximsrm sat there alone. No one spoke a word to him. Then the chief gave a great feast to his people. Tximsrm looked pitifully at the chief’s face; therefore Chief Wolf fed him with good food. When the feast was over, two young men went secretly to the chief, and toid him that his friend had hidden the animals that they killed before they came down. After these men had spoken, Chief Wolf asked his friend how he liked hunting. Txiimsrm said, “It delighted me very much, sir.’’—‘‘ Will you go again with these men ?’’—“ Yes,” was his answer, “but I want to go alone.”—“ All right! you shall go.” On the following morning the men started out hunting again, and Tximsem went last. He followed secretly behind them. Soon two young men saw that on the top of a mountain there were many mountain sheep. They went up, and Tximsrem looked at them secretly. They killed as many as they could, and let them slide down the side of the high mountain. Then they lay down on the ground on top of the mountain to refresh themselves. After they had been there some time, Txiimsem took many carcasses down to the beach and hid them from the Wolves. The two young men missed some. of the mountain sheep; but they smelled all along the way that Tximsem had dragged them, and so they soon found the pile of carcasses. They questioned Txiimsrem, who was standing by these carcasses. ‘Who dragged them down here? Where are they ?’””—“T killed them myself.”’—‘No, you dragged them down here.’ These two young men were angry with him. So one of them went away, and the other one remained to watch over the game; and the one that had gone away began to howl. Soon all the Wolves came that way, howling; but Tximsrm stood there, 100 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 ready for them, put on his raven garment, and flewaway. The chief’s son decided to kill the man who had dragged down these animals. They rushed at him; but Txiimsrm ran as fast as he could toward a log that floated a little way out on the water. He flew, and alighted onit. Then the Wolves went away with the carcasses, but Txiimsrm paddled to the north country on the floating log. He drifted to Cape Fox with the tide. Therefore the canoes do not capsize in stormy weather when they cross over there. We call the place “Mouth Of Nass River”’ up to this time. (37) TXA’/MSEM INVITES THE MONSTERS ! Tximsem had been away from this country for a long time, many years; and when he came back from the north, wearing the old raven garment, he gave a great feast to all the monsters on one of the outer islands. When his guests came into the bay on the outer side of that island, Tximsem went out to meet them. The water was full in front of the new carved house that Tximsem had built. This was the first potlatch to which he invited all kinds of monsters; and when they came into the bay, TximseEm stood in front of his house and began to address his guests. “‘O chiefs! I am so glad to see that you have come to my potlatch. J have been away from this country for a long time, therefore I am glad to see you again. I want to say something else. I wish you would stay there and become rocks.”’ Then all the monsters became rocks. He continued, ‘And I will also become a rock.’”’ As soon as Tximskm said this, the devilfish went down quickly. Therefore the devilfish stays now at the bottom of the sea. The people were much pleased because all the monsters had been turned into stone; and Txémsrm himself became a stone shaped like a raven, and only the devilfish remains alive. The people say that nowadays, when a devilfish comes out of the water, the people cry, “Caw, caw, caw!” like a raven, and the devilfish dies when he hears the raven ery. That island is full of stones shaped like all kinds of monsters—whales, killer whales, sharks, and so on— and the raven stands in front of his carved house even now.? (38) THE FURTHER HISTORY OF TXA’MSEM ° There was a great chief among the G'i-lu-dza’r named T!rm-ninx. Three years before the white people reached this country the great chief T!em-ntinx gave a great feast to all the Tsimshian tribes. He built a very good carved house, carved on the outside, and with carved timbers inside even better than the outer carving. After he had finished his house, he invited all the Tsimshian chiefs to his new carved house; and when the chiefs came in, they were delighted to 1 Notes, p. 718. 2 See p. 138. 8 Notes, p. 723. noas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 101 see the beautiful carvings in T!=m-ninx’s house; and the Tsimshian people spread the fame of his house, telling how nice it was; and all the people around the Tsimshian talked about the beautiful carved house of T!em-ninx. And so all the people round about came to see the house. Finally all the animals also heard of the fame of T!rm- nunx’s house. Now, Txiimsem also heard about this. Every day since Chief T!em-ntnx had finished his house it was full of people, and every night all kinds of animals came in to see the carved timbers. This beautiful house was built on the Skeena River, at the mouth of K-lax-g‘ils River, where the G-i-lu-dza’r tribe lived. After a while, before spring, when the people were ready to go to Nass River to fish for olachen, one midnight Chief T!zm-ntnx could not sleep, and he saw that the door of his house was secretly opened. Then he called his wife, and asked her what it might be. They looked, and saw a great man enter. He crept along, came in, and began to look at the carved timbers. Before the giant had finished looking over the house, the chief was filled with fear, and groaned. Therefore the giant stepped out quickly. On the following morning the chief invited his whole tribe in, and told them what had happened in his house on the previous night. Therefore all his men agreed to watch the followmg night; and when night came, three men lay in wait at the door. One of the chief's men had a gun loaded with five bullets; and before midnight the door was secretly opened again, as had happened before; and, behold! a great man crept in and looked at the carvings which he had not been able to examine the night before. Then the three men who lay im wait for him shot him. The man who had the gun was scared, but the others had more courage, and took the gun from him and shot the giant in the breast with the five bullets; but the giant took no notice of it, and the man who lay in wait fainted. The chief did not faint at all. When the giant had examined all the timbers, he went out, and the three men did not know who it was whom they had shot. Then the people were afraid, because they had shot a supernatural being. Many years passed on. Two years after the canneries had been established on Skeena River, not many years ago, a young man of the upper Skeena River was gambling with another one. He lost all his goods, and also those of his wife and his two children. There- fore he was very sad, for his wife had nothing to wear, and they had no food for their children. Therefore the young man went away from his empty, lonely house. He wandered about in the moun- tains. He had passed over many mountains; and after he had done so, he came to the border of a great plain. There he found a narrow trail, which he followed. Finally he saw smoke ascending in the 102 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pTH. ANN. 31 distance. He went toward it; and when he came there, he discovered a deep valley. He stood at the edge of the deep valley and looked down into it. He saw a hut in it, and the smoke ascended from it. He looked in another direction, and he saw that the trail which he had followed went straight down in front of the little hut. So he went down the trail. He looked secretly through a knot-hole, and saw a great man lying there, with his back turned toward the fire. The great man spoke to the young man who had come secretly to his door, and said, ‘‘Come in, my dear! for I have known about you ever since you left your home.’’ So the young man went in. The giant sat up and looked at the young man. He began to speak, and questioned the young man. ‘Did you hear your own history about Tximsem?’’ The young man answered, “Yes.” Then Txiimsrm continued, “I am he,” said he. ‘Do you see the wound inmy chest? I received it in the carved house of 'T!em-niinx.”’ The young man was surprised, for he did not know about the carved house of T!#m-nuinx. This giant was Tximsem. He said to the young man, “I will give you some meat.” He did so; and after the young man had had his meal, Txiimsrm said, “This valley has been given tome tolivein.”” Assoon as the young man had entered the hut, he had seen two pups lying by the side of the fire. Txiimsrm called the young man out; and when they had gone out, Txiimsrm pointed with his finger at the mountains which were all around his hut, and all these mountains were full of mountain sheep. Other mountains were full of black bears and of all other kinds of animals. Txiimsem also said, ‘Do you see these animals? They are my provisions. They have been prepared for me, and it has been ordained that I shall stay here a little longer. Therefore I do not go about the world any more, but at a future day I shall begin to travel again: but I do not know when, only Heaven himself knows.”’ After he had spoken, he called the pups by name. Then the pups arose and shook their bodies, and they became two hauhau' cubs. Therefore the young man was afraid; but Txiimsem sent the two young hauhau up one of the mountains which was full of mountain sheep. They went, and TximsEm said to the young man, “ Heaven gave me those two young hauhauw to bring me meat every day;” and when Tximsem had said these words, they heard the roaring of the two hauhau cubs on the mountain, and, behold! a great number of mountain sheep fell from the mountain by the side of Tximsrm’s hut. Txiimsem skinned and carved them all. After he had cut them up, he took the meat and fat, wrapped them around his hunting- staff, and, when the fat was thick around his staff, Tximsem squeezed the bundle four times. Then the fat was finished. He also took 1 A fabulous animal.—F. B. BOAS] ‘ TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 103 the meat and wrapped it over the fat around his staff; and when the staff was full, he squeezed it, and it was thin again. He did this four times, and all the meat was finished. Then Tximsem gave it to the young man, saying, “Go back home!” The man replied, “I do not know my way, for it is far off. I do not think I shall ever get back to my house.’ Therefore Txaimsrm led him up one of the mountains, and pointed out a certain direction. He said, ‘‘ You shall go in the direction in which I point. Follow that narrow trail yonder. This trail leads to your house. You will soon get home.” Then the young man said, “I have been traveling for many days. How can I get home quickly?”’ Tximszem replied, ‘I will smooth your way for you. You shall reach home tonight. Keep your eyes on the narrow trail; and if you hear any- thing behind you on the way like thunder or terrible noises, don’t look back, lest peril befall you. Keep your eyes on the trail until you reach above your village. Then you may look back, and you shall know what has happened.’’ Txiimsrm said also, ‘ Have pa- tience, young man! Don’t look behind you!”’ and he made the young man promise not to look back on his way down to his home. Now he was ready, and Txiimsrm told him to go as quickly as possi- ble. The man took his gun on his left shoulder and Txiimsem’s staff in his right hand. Tximsrm said, “Go quickly! My dogs will soon come and they might devour you.’ Therefore the young man went, and kept his eyes on the narrow trail. The trail went along the middle of the large plain; and while he was running along, he heard a great noise like the rolling of thunder, but the young man kept on going. He heard other terrible noises close behind, like the noise of mountain-slides, and the earth was quaking as he went along, but he kept his eyes on the narrow trail. He heard more terrible noises close behind, and he ran as fast as he could to escape from the terrors behind him, and the ground continued to tremble. He was full of fear, but he kept on, and before the sun set he arrived above his village and stood there. Then he looked back, and high mountains appeared where he had come from. Tximsmm had smoothed these mountains where the young man had passed; and as soon as the man had passed a mountain, the mountain stood up again as it had been before, and that made a terrible noise, for all the mountains arose again in their own places. There was no large plain and no narrow trail to be seen. Only high mountains covered the country behind the man. He wondered on account of what had happened to him. He stood there a while, thinking that he had been in a dream, but still he held the staff in his right hand, and his own gun on his left shoulder. He made up his mind to go down to his village, and laid down the staff and his rifle. 104 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY . [BTH. ANN. 31 He leaned his staff against the stump of a tree, and went down to his father’s house. Secretly he looked in through a knot-hole, and he beheld his sister weeping beside the fire, and many people who were sitting around the fire looked sorrowful. So he went in secretly and stood behind his sister, who was sitting there weeping. He spoke to her. ‘‘Sister,’’ said he, ‘is my wife still alive?” His sister was surprised to see him, and all the people were glad to see him home again. His poor wife came in with her two children, and the man took the two children on his knees. He ordered his nephews to invite in the whole tribe. They did as their uncle had told them. When all the guests were in, the man went up with his four nephews to where he had left his staff, and the four young men could not lift it up: so the man himself took it down to his house and placed it in front, inside of the house. He ordered mats to be spread in the rear of his father’s house, and he took off the meat of mountain sheep and piled it up in a great heap. Then he took off the fat from the staff, and heaped up the fat by itself; and when he had taken off everything from his staff, he gave part of the meat to the people, and some fat, and he told them his story. “T went wandering among the mountains; and when I passed all the mountains and rivers and lakes, I came to a great plain. I did not see any trees or any hills, just nice green grass and all kinds of flowers. Then I found a narrow trail, which I followed,” said he. Some one asked him, “How long did you walk after you reached the great plain?” He answered, ‘‘Almost fifteen days.” Then the man continued, ‘I did not see the end of the great plain; and when I came to the center, I saw smoke ascending a little distance ahead. There- fore I walked as quickly as I could. Soon I arrived at the edge of a large valley; and when I looked down, I saw a hut in the bottom, from which smoke ascended. I went down, following the same narrow trail; and I went down the hill quickly, carrying my rifle on my shoulder. When I came to the bottom of the valley, I went toward the hut. I looked in secretly, and a large man was lying there by the side of the fire, with his back against the fire. He said to me, ‘Come in, sir, for I have seen you struggling along the trail.’ So I went in quietly, and sat down on one side of the fire, with my rifle in front of me. Then the great man sat up, looked at me with his large rough face, and I was afraid of him. He asked if I was not afraid to see him. Therefore I took courage. Then he asked me if I knew him. When I said, ‘No,’ he continued asking me if I knew the story about Tximsrem, and I said, ‘Yes.’ Then he told me that he was Txiimsrem. He also showed me a large wound in his chest, which he received in the house of a chief named T!m-ninx, in whose carved house he had been shot. I saw two pups asleep near the fire. poss] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 105 Then the giant told me that Heaven had placed him there in the bottom of the deep valley and had given him food. So he did not need to go around the country. He gave me good food to eat; and when I had finished, he asked me to go outside. I did as he told me. We went out together, and he pointed out the tops of ail the mountains round about his hut. All these mountains were full of all kinds of animals—mountain sheep, black bear, and so on. Then he asked me again if I wanted to go back to my home, therefore I told him that I did not know my way. Furthermore, I told him that I thought I could not get home again. He smiled, and said, ‘It is not very far from here. You will reach home tonight. I will give you provisions for your way home.’ So I consented to what he said. Moreover, he told me that Heaven had given him two dogs. He called the two pups, which came out, shook themselves, and became hauhau cubs. I almost fainted with fear, but they went up to where there were innumerable mountain sheep; and as soon as they had gone, behold! a great number of mountain sheep came sliding down the mountain. So Tximsrem cut them up, meat and fat. Then he put the meat and fat on his staff, and this you are eating now; and when he gave me the staff, he pointed out to me a narrow trail which comes down behind our house. He stretched out his hand over the plain four times, and commanded me not to look behind if I should hear a terrible noise. He said, ‘If you look back, danger will befall you, and you will not get home; but if you look straight ahead, you will get home tonight.’ After he had given his orders, I went, and ran with all my might, the staff in my right hand, and my rifle on my left shoulder. While I was running, I heard behind me a terrible noise like rolling thunder, which made me very much afraid, so I ran on. Then I heard more terrible noises right behind me, and the ground was shaking as though rocks were being rent. I ran on. There was more noise, and the ground was quaking, and the noises were exceedingly terrible. I was almost out of breath; but before the evening I arrived on top of this hill above us, and I laid down my staff and my rifle. As soon as I reached the hill behind this village, I looked back the way I had come, and, behold! I saw many high mountains. I was wondering. I thought | wasinadream. Finally I came down; and when I saw my sister weeping here, I knew that everything was true.”’ All his people were glad to see him home again, and his relatives welcomed him, and he kept the staff that Tximsrm had given to him, and therefore the people know that TxiimsEm is still alive.t 1 My cousin, Henry D. Pierce, met this man last summer. My cousin questioned him, and the man said that all the stories which I put down on these pages were known to the people. Many young people have gone trying to find Txiimsem, but they can not do it, because he hides in the mountains, so that the people can not find him.—HENRY W. TATE. 106 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 2. THe Meerine or THE WILD ANr™MAts! A long time ago, when the Tsimshian lived on the upper Skeena River, in Prairie Town, there were many people. They were the most clever and the strongest among all the people, and they were good hunters, and caught many animals, going hunting the whole year round. Therefore all the animals were in great distress on account of the hunters. Therefore the animals held a meeting. The Grizzly Bear invited all the large animals to his house, and said to them, ‘‘We are dis- tressed, and a calamity has befallen us on account of the hunting of these people, who pursue us into our dens. Therefore it is in my mind to ask Him Who Made Us to give us more cold in winter, so that no hunter may come and kill usin our dens. Let Him Who Made Us give to our earth severe cold!” Thus spoke the Grizzly Bear to his guests. Then all the large animals agreed to what the chief had said, and the Wolf spoke: ‘‘I have something to say. Let us invite all the small animals,—even such as Poreupine, Beaver, Raccoon, Marten, Mink, down to the small animals such as the Mouse, and the Insects that move on the earth,—for they might come ferth and protest against us, and our advice might come to nought!’ Thus spoke the large Wolf to the large animals in their council. Therefore on the following day the large animals assembled on an extensive prairie, and they called all the small animals, down to the insects; and all the small animals and the insects assembled and sat down on one side of the plain, and the large animals were sitting on the other side of the plain. Panther came, Grizzly Bear, Black Bear, Wolf, Elk, Reindeer, Wolverene—all kinds of large animals. Then the chief speaker, Grizzly Bear, arose, and said, ‘‘Friends, T will tell you about my experiences.”” Thus he spoke to the small animals and to the insects. ‘‘You know very well how we are afflicted by the people who hunt us on mountains and hills, even pursuing us into our dens. Therefore, my brothers, we have assembled (he meant the large animals). On the previous day I called them all, and I told them what I had in my mind. I said, ‘Let us ask Him Who Made Us to give to our earth cold winters, colder than ever, so that the people who hunt us can not come to our dens and kill us and you!’ and my brothers agreed. Therefore we have called you, and we tell you about our council.’ Thus spoke the Grizzly Bear. Moreover, he said, ‘‘Now I will ask you, large animals, is this so?” Then the Panther spoke, and said, ‘‘I fully agree to this wise counsel,”’ and all the large animals agreed. Then the Grizzly Bear 1 This story resembles, in the form of the speeches, the story of Txiimsrm’s war on the South Wind, p. 79, and has beeninfluenced in form by the Kwakiutl tales. The term “‘He Who Made Us’’is presum- ably due to Christian influence.—Notes, pp. 723, 728.—F. B. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 107 turned to the small animals, who were seated on one side of the prairie, and said, ‘‘We want to know what you have to say in this matter.” Then the small animals kept quiet, and did not reply to the question. After they had been silent for a while, one of their speakers, Porcupine, arose, and said, ‘‘ Friends, let me say a word or two to answer your question. Your counsel is very good for your- selves, for you have plenty of warm fur, even for the most severe cold, but look down upon these little insects. They have no fur to warm themselves in winter; and how can small insects and other small animals obtain provisions if you ask for severe cold in winter ? Therefore I say this, don’t ask for the greatest cold.’ Then he stopped speaking and sat down. Then Grizzly Bear arose, and said, ‘‘ We will not pay any attention to what Porcupine says, for all the large animals agree.”’ Therefore he turned his head toward the large animals, and said, “‘Did you agree when we asked for the severest cold on earth?” and all the large animals replied, ‘“‘ We all consented. We do not care for what Poreupine has said.” Then the same speaker arose again, and said, ‘‘Now, listen once more! I will ask you just one question.’ Thus spoke Porcupine: “How will you obtain plants to eat if you ask for very severe cold ? And if it is so cold, the roots of all the wild berries will be withered and frozen, and all the plants of the prairie will wither away, owing to the frost of winter. How will you be able to get food? You are large animals, and you always walk about among the mountains wanting something to eat. Now, if your request is granted for severe cold every winter, you will die of starvation in spring or in summer; but we shall live, for we live on the bark of trees, and our smallest persons find their food in the gum of trees, and the smallest insects find their food in the earth.” After he had spoken, Porcupine put his thumb into his mouth and bit it off, and said, ‘‘Confound it!” and threw his thumb out of his mouth to show the large animals how clever he was, and sat down again, full of rage. Therefore the hand of the porcupine has only four fingers, no thumb. All the large animals were speechless, because they wondered at the wisdom of Porcupine. Finally Grizzly Bear arose, and said, “Tt is true what you have said.’’ Thus spoke Grizzly Bear to Porcu- pine, and all the large animals chose Poreupine to be their wise man and to be the first among all the small animals; and they all agreed that the cold in winter should be as much as it is now. They made six months for the winter and six months for summer. Then Porcupine spoke again out of his wisdom, and said, ‘‘In winter we shall have ice and snow. In spring we shall have showers of rain, and the plants shall be green. In summer we shall have 108 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 warmer weather, and all the fishes shall go up the rivers. In the fall the leaves shall fall; it shall rain, and the rivers and brooks shall overflow their banks. Then all the animals, large and small, and those that creep on the ground, shall go into their dens and hide themselves for six months.” Thus spoke the wise Porcupine to all the animals. Then they all agreed to what Porcupine had proposed. They all joyfully went to their own homes. Thus it happens that all the wild animals take to their dens in winter, and that all the large animals are in their dens in winter. Only Porcupine does not hide in a den in winter, but goes about visiting his neighbors, all the dif- ferent kinds of animals that go to their dens, large animals as well as small ones. The large animals refused the advice that Porcupine gave; and Porcupine was full of rage, went to those animals that had slighted him, and struck them with the quills of his tail, and the large animals were killed by them. Therefore all the animals are afraid of Poreu- pine to this day. That is the end. 3. THe Story or THE PoRCUPINE-HUNTER' There was a great porcupine-hunter in one of the Indian villages. Every year, early in the fall, he went to hunt porcupines, because they were excellent food in those days among the Indians. Every fall he killed many and dried their meat and fat; and in winter-time people from various villages came to him to buy dried meat from him, and he became a very rich man. He had many valleys for his hunt- ing-ground, and he built a hut in each valley to dry meat and tallow. He had four valleys as his hunting-ground. Every year he went to his first camp; and after he had killed all the porcupines there, he went to the next camp; and when he had killed all there, he went to another camp; and so on. He made a good club of yew wood with which to club porcupines after smoking them out of their dens; and when they ran out, he clubbed them and slew them. Therefore all the porcupines were in distress on account of this man. One year this hunter started earlier than other years. He went to camp in his four valleys, and obtained a great number of porcupines. When he had filled three of his huts, he went to his last hunting-ground ; and as soon as he arrived there, he went out alone to look over the large rock above his hut; and when he arrived there, he saw a large porcupine of brown color going around the foot of a large spruce tree which stood in front of the rock. He ran after it, and, behold! there was a large door opened for him, and a large fire was burning in the center of a large house. He was invited in; so he entered, and they spread a mat on one side of the fire; and a great chief was there, seated in the rear of his house. He ordered his young men, and said, ‘‘Run around the village and invite all the women to my house, 1 Notes, p. 723 Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 109 that I may dance and welcome my guest!’’ So they went. When all the women were in, the Porcupine arose and began to dance; and the song-leader began to sing, ‘‘Pronounce my name, pronounce my name! Strike. strike!” Repeat many times. (== = aS es Aitgut wai - ya, aitgut wai - ya, yétst yétst. Porcupine ran around his own large fire; and after he had sung, he stood in front of his guest, and said to him, ‘‘Pronounce my name, brother! What is my name?’ Thus he said, while he stood in front of him. Then the hunter said, ‘‘Your name is Little Poreu- pine.’’—‘‘Yes, my name is that,” said Chief Porcupine, and struck the hunter’s face with his spiny tail. Then they began to sing again, and Chief Porcupine danced once more, while the hunter’s face was full of porcupine quills. At the end of the song the chief stopped in front of the hunter, and said, “Now, brother, what is my name?” The hunter said, ‘‘ Your name is Little Ugly Poreupine.”’ Again the chief struck the hunter’s face with his spiny tail, and said, ‘‘That is my name.” They sang again, and Chief Porcupine ran around the fire, while his attendants kept on singing. Again he stopped in front of the hunter, and said, “‘What is my name, brother?’”? The man said, “Your name is Little Burnt One.’”’ Again the chief struck him with his spiny tail, saying, ‘‘Yes, that is myname,”’ and the hunter’s face was full of porcupine quills. It was swollen so that he could hardly see out of his eyes. Again Chief Porcupine ran around the fire while they were singing, and again he stopped in front of the hunter, and asked, ‘‘What is my name, brother?’’ Then the poor hunter said, ‘‘ Your name is Little Lean Fellow.’”’—‘‘Yes, that is my name,” said Porcupine, and struck the hunter’s face with his spiny tail. He ran around again, and his attendants kept on singing, for this was the last chance for the man’s life. Then somebody touched him softly. It was the Mouse Woman. She asked him, ‘‘Do you know who has punished you?’’ The poor blind hunter said, ‘‘No.’”’-—‘‘It is the chief of the Porcupines,”’ said Mouse Woman, ‘‘because you killed so many in years past.’’ The Mouse Woman was speaking to him while Porcupine was singing. ‘‘Now, this is the last time. At the end of the song the Porcupines will strike you all over your body with their spiny tails if you do not give the right answer to the chief’s question. His name is Sea Otter On Green Mountain.”’ While the Mouse Woman was still talking to him, the singing ceased, and all the Porcupines were ready to rush on him. Then the chief stopped in front of him, and said, ‘‘Now, what is my name, 110 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 dear man?’’? Then the poor man answered in a low voice, ‘‘ Your name is Sea Otter On Green Mountain.” Then Chief Porcupine ordered his people to wash the face of the poor man; and all the Porcupines worked at his face, and took out the green contents of the stomach of the first wife of Chief Porcupine, and they rubbed it on the face of the hunter, for it was full of quills. Then the quills came out again by themselves; and they took the contents of the stomach of the second wife of Chief Porcupine and rubbed it on his face, and more quills came out, and the man’s face be- came better than it had been before. Then the contents of the stomach of the third wife was rubbed on his face, and the swelling on his face became less, the quills became loose and fell out. Then the contents of the stomach of the fourth wife was rubbed on his face, and all the quills came out. Not a single one remained in the face of the hunter. Chief Porcupine had been chewing new green leaves. Then he spat in his hands and rubbed the face of the man, whose face became as beautiful as it had been when he was a boy. Then Chief Porcupine ordered his attendants to give food to the hunter. Therefore they brought fat Taganieailenceg. meat and many different kinds of food, and fruits of all kinds; and when the hunter felt satisfied after he naa eaten, the chief said to him, ‘‘I will be your friend. My people are full of sorrow because you have slain great numbers of them, so I have taken you into my house to kill you right here; but since you have pronounced my chief’s name rightly, I will spare your life. Now, I will ask you kindly not to smoke the porcupines out of their dens; and if you need porcupine meat, do not kill so many of them; and when you have killed one or more, dry their meat in a good fire and eat them before winter sets in, so that my people may not have any sickness in winter, and cast their bones into the fire; and do not let your young people eat the heads of young porcupines, lest they become forgetful.” Therefore the Indians know how to use the contents of the stomach of the porcupine when porcupine quills stick in the bodies of our people. Then the hunter went out from that place to his own hut, where his wife was sitting weeping because her husband had been away for many days. While the woman was sitting there, she heard a noise at the door. She turned her face, and saw her husband come in. She was surprised, and questioned him, and the hunter told her that he had been to the house of Chief Porcupine. Then they moved and went home. They took all the porcupine meat from the other camps; and when he had taken them all home, he invited the people to his house, and told them what had happened and how he had been punished in the house of Chief Porcupine. Therefore the people nowadays know that the Porcupine is troubled by the people. Porcupine is an animal that os how to sing. Porcupines know every tune in existence. EE ore BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Nae 4. Tor Srory or Grizzty Bear and BERAVER! There was a great lake close to Skeena River, where many beavers built their houses, because it was deep water and a safe hiding-place and good shelter for them in winter-time. There were many old houses, and new ones as well. They thought that their dangerous enemies could not reach them. One day the beavers thought there was no danger near them. Therefore they left their houses and went out for fresh air, and they covered the melting ice. It was early in spring when the animals awoke from their winter sleep and came out of their dens. The Grizzly Bear had just come out from his winter sleep, and as soon as he came out he saw many beavers that covered the ice. He went there secretly, fell on them, and killed many of them. Some of them escaped to their houses in the lake; but the great Grizzly Bear hunted them to their houses, and slew many of them in their houses, and they were very sad. The great Grizzly Bear, however, was happy because he had much food, and the poor weak beavers were much distressed. He thought that these beavers would last him through the summer, and finally only one beaver escaped from his paws. This poor Beaver went away down into the water, and the great Grizzly Bear was eating the beaver meat; and when he had enough, he lay down and slept among the slain beavers. The poor lonely Beaver hid in the deep water and thought about her great enemy. Then she planned to make false ground on one side of the lake. So she took wet soft moss and put it at the butt end of a fallen tree which stretched over the water at one side of the great lake. She did so in the night, for she was afraid to work in the daytime. She made it look like dry land around the old fallen tree. At the end of the summer the salmon were in the creeks. Now, the great Grizzly Bear’s beaver meat was all gone, and the great dreadful thing was very hungry. He was walking around the lake, searching for something to eat; and he went to the brooks and caught many salmon, which were to serve as his food in winter. One day as he went about very hungry, walking about proudly, for he was stronger than any other animal, he stood there, and saw a poor weak Beaver sitting at the end of a fallen tree. She was sitting there very lonely. When the proud animal saw her sitting there, he asked with his proud voice, ‘‘What are you doing there, poor animal?” Thus said the proud Grizzly Bear when he saw her sitting on the end of an old log. The Beaver said, ‘‘Grizzly Bear shall die!”” Then the Grizzly Bear became angry, and said, ‘‘Did you say I shall die?” but she did not even answer him. He walked down to and fro on the dry land at the foot of the fallen tree, on the end of which the poor ! Notes, p. 723. 11? TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 little Beaver was sitting. The Beaver said again, ‘‘The great Grizzly Bear shall die!’”’—‘Yes,” said the great monster, ‘‘I will kill you right there. Don’t run away! I will tear you right now!’’ and he walked toward the Beaver that was sitting there. He was walking along the log proudly, and said, ‘‘Don’t run away! I will devour you!”’ but the brave Beaver replied, ‘‘Great Grizzly Bear shall die!” Then the proud Grizzly Bear flew into a rage; but the poor Beaver remained sitting there, and then swam out into the water. Then she looked back at the Grizzly Bear, and said, ‘‘Grizzly Bear shall die!” At once the Grizzly Bear jumped on the Beaver, who dived under the fallen tree where she had made the false ground in order to entrap the great Grizzly Bear, and the great monster struggled in the slough that the Beaver had made. Then the Beaver came out on the surface and climbed on the log where she had been sitting before, and looked at the great Grizzly Bear who was struggling there. She said once more, ‘‘Grizzly Bear shall die!”” The Grizzly Bear became tired out in the slough, and groaned in despair. He tried with all his might to get away, but he could not, because the soft mud and moss held him. He tried to swim, but he could not do it. When he was about to die, he said to the Beaver, ‘‘Come and help me!” and the Beaver said again, ‘‘Grizzly Bear shall die!’’ Now, the great animal howled and shouted and moaned and died there in despair. He was drowned in the slough, because he had no pity on the weak animals, and tried to devour all the weak animals. He thought there was no one besides himself. Yet the weak animal was stronger than he in wisdom, and the weak animal killed him. He was howling and crying,—he who had slain all the poor Beavers,— but no Beavers were crying or moaning when the great Grizzly Bear destroyed them. Therefore let not the strong oppress the poor or weak, for the weak shall have the victory over the mighty. This is the end. 5. Srory or THE PorcuUPINE! (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 236-241.) The tune of the song recorded on p. 238, as given by Mr. Tate, is printed here. It has not been possible to correlate words and tune. z {= ae ic fate SSSS55 Eedresle 1 i = CAD 4 Z et = fee ie ee - Peat ere se 1 Notes, p. 724. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 113 6. Beaver AND PorRoUPINE ! (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 226-235.) 7. Story oF THE DELUGE? (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 143-253.) 8. Sun anp Moon ? (Translated from Boas 10.) It was in the beginning, before anything that lives in our world was created There was only the chief in heaven. There was no light in heaven. There were only emptiness and darkness. The chief had two sons and one daughter. His people were numer- ous. Indeed, they were the tribe of the chief. These were the names of his three children. The name of the eldest one was Walking About Early; the name of the second, The One Who Walks All Over The Sky. The name of the girl was Support Of Sun. They were very strong. The younger boy was wiser and abler than the elder one. Therefore one day he was sad, and he pondered why darkness was continuing all the time. Therefore one day he spoke to his sister, ‘‘Let us go and get pitch wood!”’ They went and they cut very good pitch wood. They made a ring of a slender cedar twig, and measured it according to the size of aface. Then they tied pitch wood all round it, so that it looked like a mask. After they had finished, they told their sister, who was accompanying them while they were getting pitch wood, not to tell the people about what they were doing. Then The One Who Walks All Over The Sky went to where the Sun rises and showed himself to the people. The pitch wood that was tied around his face was burning. Suddenly the people saw the great light rising in the east. They were glad when they saw the light. Then he ran in full sight across the sky. He came from the east and went westward. He was carry- ing the pitch mask. That is the reason why he was running quickly, because else the pitch wood would have been burned up. Therefore he was running quickly across the sky. Then the chief’s tribe assem- bled. They sat down together to hold a council, and said, ‘‘We are glad because your child has given us light, but he is running too quickly. He ought to go a little more slowly, so that we may enjoy the light for a longer time.”” Therefore the chief told his son what the people had said. His son replied, asking him what he should do, since the pitch wood would burn before he could reach the west. Therefore he went that way every day. The people assembled again and held a council, and requested him to go slowly along the skv. That is what they asked of him; and 1 Notes, p. 724. 2 Notes, p. 727. 50633°—31 ETH—16——8 114 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 therefore his sister said, ‘*I will hold him when he is running along the sky.” Then the people blessed the woman, and the father also blessed his daughter. Next time when The One Who Walks All Over The Sky started on his journey, Support Of Sun started too. She went south- ward. Her brother rose in the east, and then the girl turned back and ran to meet her brother. The woman said, ‘‘Wait for me until I catch up with you!” She ran as fast as she could, and held her brother in the middle of the sky. For this reason the Sun stops for a little while in the middle of the sky. The woman stood firm, holding her brother. Therefore we see the Sun stopping for a little while in the middle of the sky. Then the people saw the Sun stopping for a little while in the middle of the sky, and they shouted for joy. Full of joy, they said, ‘‘Sup- port Of Sun makes the Sun stop! Haw!” and the-whole crowd was full of joy. Suddenly the chief began to scold his son, blaming his elder son because he was not as skillful as his younger brother. Then the elder one lay down prone, crying on account of what his father said to him. When his brother, the Sun, came back, he lay down, for he was tired. Walking About Early spoke to his little slave when everybody was asleep, when all the house fellows of his father were asleep. After he had spoken, he rubbed charcoal over one side of his face, and said, ‘‘When you see that I rise in the east,’ thus he spoke to his slave, “Sump up and shout, ‘Hurrah! he has arisen!’ That is what you are to say.” Then he left. The One Who Walks All Over The Sky slept like one dead, because he was very tired. He allowed his shining face to shed light out of the smoke hole. Then Walking About Early arose in the east. That is where he arose. Then the little slave jumped up and shouted, ‘‘Hurrah! he has arisen!”’ Several people asked him, ‘‘Why do you make such a noise, bad slave ?”’ but his joy was only increasing. He jumped up, and pointed out where the Moon was rising. Then suddenly the people looked up. Behold! the Moon had risen. Then all the people shouted for joy, and shouted, ‘‘Hurrah!”’ ; After some time all the different kinds of animals assembled to hold a council. They agreed that the Sun should walk about every day, that he should be the light of day, and that he should make everything erow; and they also agreed in regard to the Moon. At that time they held a great council. All kinds of animals assem- bled. Dogs were there also. The Dogs, on their part, were wiser than all the other animals. Therefore they spoke first in the great council of the animals. The wise Dogs said, ‘‘The Moon shall rise forty days.” Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 115 Then all the animals were silent. The Dogs sat down together and talked secretly, and thought about what they had said. The wisest one among them was still standing. He was counting his fingers, and reckoned forty days to each month. While he was doing so, a man struck the thumb of the wise one—it was Porcupine who struck the Dog’s thumb—and said, ‘‘Who can live if there are forty days each month throughout the year? There shall be only thirty dayseach month.”’ And all the animals agreed with him. They were glad. Therefore all the animals said, ‘‘We will follow the advice of Porcupine.” Therefore what he had said happened; and therefore each month has thirty days, and there are twelve months each year. Then all the animals agreed that the Dogs should be driven away; and for this reason the Dog hates the Porcupine, and therefore the Dog hates all the animals of the woods; but the Dog hates the Por- cupine most of all, because Porcupine knocked down Dog’s thumb with his spiny tail when they were seated together in council; and indeed Porcupine took the position of the wise Dog away from him when he was standing among the animals. Therefore the Dog hates the Porcupine up to this day, and for that reason the Dog’s thumb stands opposite his other fingers. The Dog had six fingers. On account of what happened then, there are only twelve months. At that time Porcupine made the days as we have them now thirty to each month. All the people enjoy the light in heaven. Before that, our world was always dark. At that time the animals named every month anil they were seated together in council. They began the count with the month— Between October and November, ‘‘ Falling-Leaf Month.” Between November and December, ‘‘Taboo Month.’’ Between December and January, ‘‘The Intervening Month.”’ Between January and February, ‘‘Spring-Salmon Month.” Between February and March, ‘‘Month When Olachen Is Eaten.”’ Between March and April, ‘“‘When Olachen Is Cooked.” Between April and May, (?) Between May and June, ‘‘Egg Month.” Between June and July, ‘‘Salmon Month.” Between July and August, ‘‘ Humpback-Salmon Month.” Between August and September, (?) Between September and October, “‘Spinning-Top Month.”’ And they also divided the year into four seasons—spring, summer, autumn, and winter. When The One Who Walks All Over The Sky was asleep, sparks flew out of his mouth. Those are the stars; and at night the moon receives its light from the shining face of the Sun, who is asleep when he is tired and when his light shoots out of the smoke hole. 116 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Sometimes when the Sun is glad he adorns himself. He takes his sister’s red ocher to paint his face. Then the people know what kind of weather it is going to be on the following day. When the people see the red sky in the evening, they know that it will be good weather the following day; and when they see the red sky in the morning, they know that the weather is going to be bad the whole day. That is what the people say. The girl, on her part, was cast down. Therefore one day she, on her part, went westward. She wrung out her garments and struck the water with them. ‘Then she returned. The chief, her father, asked her, ‘‘Whence did you come, child?”’ Thus spoke her father, the chief, to the girl. Then the girl said, “I just went westward.’’ She was standing near her father’s great fire, warming herself. She wore her gar- ments, and shook the water out of her garments upon her father’s fire. Then suddenly a fog came out of the house, and the whole tribe enjoyed the fog. The people were refreshed, because it was very hot, and they agreed that the girl had refreshed them. That is where fog comes from nowadays; it comes from the west. Therefore the chief, the father, was glad when he saw that his children were wise. He gave to his eldest son the duty to watch that people may know the year. To the next one, The One Who Walks All Over The Sky, he gave the duty to make all good things, such as fruit, appear on the earth, and to make everything plentiful; and he blessed his daughter be- cause she refreshed with cool fog those who were tired. That is the end. 9. Am’aLa’ (VERY Dirty)! Once upon a time there was a great chief who built his house on a sandy beach. He had four nephews. Every morning in winter the chief called his four nephews and sent them to get fuel. The young men also built a new large house. When the north wind blew hard, and when it was very cold, so that the water of the sea almost froze, the uncle would say, ‘‘I want you to be stronger than any one else. When you are very strong, I shall invite all the chiefs and their warriors to fight against you. Therefore build a large fire. Go down to the water, and bathe in the sea. Then I shall come down and whip you with a bundle of twigs.’ After he had finished this speech, he said, ‘Will you now go down to bathe ?” So the eldest one went out first, went into the ice-cold water, and the second and third brothers also went; but the fourth, the youngest, would not go. He would lie in the corner of his uncle’s house. They say that he had never taken a bath, even once, ever since he was born. ' The translation of this name is given by Mr. Tate, but is not clear. Am’ala’ means ‘smoke hole.” — Notes, p. 729.—F. B. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS U7 He arose late every morning and scratched his head; and when his three brothers came back from their morning bath, they laughed at him and gave him the nickname Dirty. Every morning when the three princes were bathing in the sea, their uncle would go to them while they were in the water and would whip them with twigs. They were all equally strong. One was not stronger than the others. But the youngest one continued to he in the corner of the house, right on the ground, without a bed. He had only a ragged deer-skin blanket to wear. When he arose late in the morning, steam would arise from the ground where he had lain. Therefore his three brothers thought that he had wet the ground while asleep. The three brothers went bathing all the time, and they became stronger than all the other people. Their uncle made a certain law for them. He said, ‘‘As soon as you come out of the water, go into the woods and try to pull out one of the fresh branches of a spruce tree.’ The young men did as their uncle had told them, and tried to pull out the branch without any tools. They went every morning again and again, but they could not do it. He, however, the youngest one, Dirty, would sit in the water at midnight in the cold of winter, when the north wind was blowing, and before daylight he would come out of the water, and lie down again in his bed of ashes in the corner. Therefore he slept very late in the morning, like a lazy fellow, and his brothers mocked him often because he had never gohe bathing once. This young man would not go near the fire soon after his bath, but he just wrapped himself in his old ragged deer-skin blanket, and the steam rose up from his bed of ashes in the corner, because his body was wet from his midnight bath; and this is the reason why he slept late every morning while his three brothers went to take their bath. , When they all gathered around the large fire, after they had taken their bath, they were talking about the branch which they were to twist and tear out. Then Dirty said, “I shall go and twist it out easily.”’ Theylaughed and twitted him, and said, ‘‘Oh, you miserable fellow! You will twist and tear out the branch of the fresh tree! you, who wet your bed in the morning when you are asleep! You will certainly be able to pull out the branch, for you are so full of dirt.” They made fun of bim and pushed him out of the house. The young man went to the bay south of their house, where a brook was running down. He was full of sorrow while going up the brook. Then he met a young man whose skin shone bright. He asked him, ‘‘Why are you so sad this morning, my dear!” The young man answered, ‘‘O supernatural one! my three elder brothers make fun of me and laugh at me, and they call me Very Dirty.” Then the supernatural being replied, “‘What do you wish of me? I 118 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erit. ANN. 31 will geant you your wish.” Then the young man said, “ You see that my skin is not clean. I want to be clean, and I want to be stronger than any living being in the country.’ The supernatural being replied, ‘Go over there and gather the leaves of the supernatural tree and bring them to me.’’ So Dirty went to the great valley and tried to find the leaves, but he could not do it. He brought leaves of all kinds, but the supernatural beg refused them. Then the super- natural bemg went himself and brought a bunch of leaves of the supernatural tree. He said, “Let us go down to that pool yonder!” They went, and, behold! there was a good pond, and the supernatural being washed Dirty in the pool four times. He washed him with the leaves of the supernatural tree, and he became very clean, and was a fine-looking young man, tall, and broad of chest. Then the supernatural being said again, ‘‘Go down and plunge into the pond; and as soon as you come out of it, then you shall tear out that young tree on the other side.” The young man did as he had been told. He plunged into the pond and came out again quickly. He ran toward the young spruce tree and pulled it out with its roots. The supernatural being asked him, ‘‘Are you now strong enough?” He replied, “No, I want greater strength.” The supernatural being said again, ‘‘Go down and plunge into the water.”” So he went to the pond and plunged into the water. He came out of the pond, and pulled out a spruce tree a little larger than the first one, with the roots. Again he was asked, ‘Is this enough?” but he replied, “No, I want more.” Therefore he sent him again to the pond, and on coming out he pulled out aspruce tree withits roots. Again the supernatural bemg asked him, ‘Are you now strong enough?” but he replied, “T want more.”’ So he sent him into the pond again; and when he came out of the water, he pulled out a large tree with its roots. Then the supernatural bemg asked him, ‘Are you now satisfied?” The man said, “ Let me do it once more!’’ but the supernatural being said, “No, now it is enough.”’” Then he vanished from his side. So the young man went back; and before he came into his uncle’s house, he came to the tree the branch of which his brothers had been trying to pull out every morning. He took hold of it, twisted it, and pulled it out very easily. Then he put the branch back after he had pulled it out. He went down to his uncle’s house, and the three brothers made fun of him and laughed at him, but he did not answer them at all. Now, the appointed day had come, and the chief, the uncle of the young men, invited all the chiefs and their strong men to fight against the three brothers who had made themselves strong; and when all the guests were in the house, the chief said to his three nephews, ‘‘Go into the woods and bring down some fuel, for we have no wood to Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 119 make a fire for these chiefs who are coming to my house.’’ Therefore they went and broke young rotten red-cedar trees, and took them home to make a fire with. Dirty went and pulled out a spruce tree with its roots, and carried it on his shoulders, and brought it into his uncle’s house. There he broke it up and put it on the fire. Then his three brothers were ashamed because he was stronger than they, Now, the day had come when the warriors were to fight against the brothers. One day the eldest brother made himself ready to fight with one of the warriors, and all the chiefs and tribes assembled in the house of the chief on the sandy shore, and they were all sitting there quietly. Then one of the G-it-qxa’la stepped forward to fight against the eldest brother. They joined and fought, trying to throw each other. They fought a long time, and at last the man from G'it-qxa'la threw the eldest brother. He was hurt, and lay there, his whole body aching. Then the G-it-qxa’la tribe shouted for joy. ° Then the second brother stepped forth, and said, “Who is the strongest man? Let him come out in front of his people, and I will fight with him!” Then a man of the tribe of G-i-spa-x-la/°ts came out. They joined and fought, as the two others had done before, and the man of the tribe G-i-spa-x-l4/°ts vanquished the second brother, who was bruised all over his body and full of pain. Then the third brother stepped forth while the tribe of G-i-spa-x- 14’°ts was shouting for joy. The third brother said, ‘‘ Who will come and fight with me?’”’ Then a man of the tribe of G-it-dzi’°s stepped forward to fight against the third brother. They joined, and the third brother fell, overpowered by his adversary. His skull was broken, and he died there. Then all the people shouted like thunder. Now, the chief, the uncle of the three men, was ashamed. He said to Dirty, ‘““Now, Dirty, where are you?”’ He replied, “ Here I am, uncle! What do you wish?’ His unele said, “Step forward and fight agaist the men who beat your three brothers!’ Then he stepped forward, and said, ‘“ Now, you three men, come forth and fight me, all together!” So the three strong men came forth to fight with him. The three men attacked him at the same time; and Dirty squeezed their heads, and broke them like eggshells, and they all died there. Their skulls were broken. Therefore the chief’s tribe shouted for joy. Then all the tribes made war against him; but he won a great victory over them that day, and a great many people were killed by one man. His uncle had to pay them with his goods—costly coppers, slaves, large canoes, elk skins, and other kinds of property. Thus his uncle became poor. Therefore the people moved away and deserted the chief's nephew Dirty, and one slave who remained with him. ‘They lived in his uncle’s 120 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ern. ANN. 31 house. The slave was very skillful in shooting wild ducks with his arrows, and Dirty liked to eat the wild ducks. The slave gathered the ° oil of the wild ducks in a root basket. Now, all the animals heard that this young man was the strongest person that ever lived. Therefore all the strongest animals came to his door and called him out to fight with hea First came the Black Bear. Dirty came out and killed the Black Bear as one kills mice. Next came aSea Lion and stood at his door. He called Dirty out to fight with him. The young man came out and killed him as one kills mice. Next the Grizzly Bear came and stood at his door. He called Dirty out to fight with him, and he came out and killed him as one kills mice. Then the Xact came. (A aza@% is a very strong and large animal. He is stronger than all the other animals in this country. Sometimes he will kill many grizzly bears at one time.) The Xa°t also came and stood at the door of Dirty’s house, and called Dirty out to come and fight with him. So he came out, fought with him, and killed him. Thus all the strongest animals came to him, and he killed them all as one kills young mice. Then Dirty said to his slave, ““When you see that my back is bent, then come and rub it with the oil of wild ducks that you have gathered in your root basket.” When all the animals had failed, the strong trees came. First the Crabapple Tree came to his door and called him out to fight with him. He came out and pulled it out with the roots as one plucks out grass; and thus all the strongest and greatest trees came. He pulled them out and broke them to pieces. When all the trees had failed, the strong birds came and tried to beat him. First the Thunderbird came and stood at his door, and called Dirty out to fight with him; and when Dirty came out, he threw his bolts of lightning, but Dirty took hold of him and killed him as one kills a fly; and thus all the strongest birds came. Now, when all the living beings had come, Dirty had a short rest. Next morning a long, broad Mountain stood at his door and called him out; and when Dirty came out, the large Mountai said to him, “T am the last one of your enemies. If I throw you down, you will die; but if you throw me down, I shall die. Then you shall take my life away from me, and you shall live as long as the world stands.” After the Mountain had spoken, they jomed. Now, Dirty’s back became bent, for the Mountain was leaning on him; and Dirty’s slave came to him with the root basket filled with oil of wild ducks, and the slave rubbed it over his back. Thisstrengthened him, and Dirty threw the high Mountain and broke it to pieces. It became the sandbar with large rocks at the beach of Sandy Shore. Thus Dirty took the Mountain’s life. ROAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Pal Thus all his enemies were destroyed by this powerful man, and his fame spread all over the world, and he now rested from his fights; for his victory was very great, and he had more power than he had ever had before, for the Mountain gave him his power. One morning very early the slave ran into the house and told him that a canoe had come, with two people init. Dirty was lying down by the fireside. The two men came in and said, ‘Great chief, our poor sick chief wants you to come. He wants to see you before he dies. Therefore he sent us to you.’”’ Then Dirty arose, and he and his slave made ready to go with the two men who had come to him. They went down to the canoe together. The two men paddled, and the canoe went quickly toward the southwest. After they had passed over the large sea, they saw a small island in front of them; and when they came nearer and nearer, the island appeared to be large; and there was a large town on the island, with many houses and many people. As soon as they arrived on the beach, crowds of people came down to meet them. Dirty went ashore, and the men guided him and the slave to the chief’s house. As soon as he came in, behold! a chief lay there in the rear of the house. He was very ill. The pole sup- porting our world was standing on his chest; and the world had always been turning on his chest ever since the world began, all through the ages. Now, he was sick, and therefore he sent for Dirty to take his place. He spoke to Dirty: ‘The reason why I sent for you is that you shall lie down here and take care of the world. I have heard that you are a mighty man. I know that you have double strength—one which you obtamed from a supernatural ‘being, the other which you obtained from the strong mountain. Liedown by my side! I will put this pole-of-the-world on your chest.” Before Dirty lay down by his side, he said to his slave, ‘I will give part of my life to you. Sit down by my side! You shall always live with me, and you shall rub my back with the oil of wild ducks once a year.’’ So the slave sat down there, and Dirty lay down. Then the chief took the pole off from his chest and put it on Dirty’s chest, and the chief and all his people left the town. Dirty is still holding the world on his chest, and his slave is also there. The oil of wild ducks is nearly gone now; and as soon as Dirty dies, the world will come to an end. 10. Tae Four Great CHrers or THE WIrNps! There are four great chiefs in the four corners of the world. The North Wind is the first of all; the South Wind, the second; the East Wind, the third; and the West Wind, the fourth. The three chiefs 1 Notes, p. 732. 122 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 hate the North Wind, because the North Wind makes the world pale in winter. The South Wind wants the world to be always green, as in spring; and Kast Wind wants the same as South ues and also West Wind wishes for the same. Therefore South Wind made war against North Wind. South Wind invited his neighbors East Wind and West Wind. They assembled, and the strong South Wind went first, and a strong southeasterly gale blew very hard. Then the East Wind also blew very hard, and they joined in battle. Finally North Wind was vanquished, and the three Winds won the victory over North Wind. Therefore North Wind promised that the world should be green for six months, but South Wind would not consent to it. His two neighbors, however, compelled him to do so. Therefore South Wind agreed, and they made a law that the South Wind should sometimes blow in winter with rain, while the North Wind makes everything cold and frozen; and in spring the three Winds should play, in order to melt the frozen ground; and in summer the West Wind was to blow softly over the land and comfort the pale world with its lovely breezes. Now, when they made this law, the gentle Wind said, ‘Let the whole world have peace once or twice a year—once before autumn, and once before spring.’”’ They all agreed to these words and went to their homes. South Wind had five children—four boys and one girl. The names of these children were Proud Rain-Wind (Ksdiyaxt-haiwas), and the next one Excrement Face (Y !an-dzaxt), and the third one Rain Under The Knee (Lu-mrkmi’gum ts!km-sait), and the fourth one Going Behind The Mountains (Gilhak-gask), and the girl’s name was Drops Of A Spring Of Water (Ksa-li°wal-gwa/neks). West Wind had two children. His elder son’s name was Evening Clouds (Srsa’ksgum sa° tgi-ya’°sat), and his younger son’s name was Red Evening Clouds (Bi/Itsegum lawugumks). East Wind had two children. His elder son’s name was Clouds Falling On The Mountain Top (Hapka’breks a na-ga-ts !uwan-sganti’st), and his younger son’s name was Red Morning Clouds (Bi’/ltsegum ganla’q). ' North Wind’s wife had two children who were twins—the one named Frozen (Gwatk-sa), the other named Freezer (Ksat). One of the sons of North Wind wanted to marry South Wind’s daughter, but South Wind’s sons did not want to let their only sister marry him. The following year North Wind came to South Wind and asked for his daughter for his other son, who wanted to marry Drops Of A Spring Of Water. Then South Wind consented, and let him have her to be his wife. Chief North Wind invited all the differ- ent Winds; and when the guests were all in his house, South Wind BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 123 brought his daughter, with very strong winds and heavy rains. Now, the prince and the princess were married; and after the celebra- tion was over, South Wind went back from the north to his own country, with strong winds and rain. The young princess lived with her husband in the house of her father-in-law and with her sister-in-law. She was always with her wherever she went. Now the winter months had come on, and the north wind blew hard, and there was ice on all the rivers, lakes, and ponds. Everything was frozen. North Wind’s people said that it was a very warm season, but the daughter of South Wind felt very cold every day. She was sitting in the cold icy house without a fire, crying, while the people in the house felt quite warm. At night, when she was in bed with her husband, she was almost frozen. One day she went out as usual, and sat down on the beach at high-water mark. Then she took her salmon-knife, took a piece of yellow-cedar wood, and carved it in the shape of a duck. When she had finished it, she said to her little wedge, “Go to my father’s country and tell them what is happening to me in this far country!”’ Then the wooden wedge became a wild duck. Chief South Wind and his chieftainess were sitting in front of their house, and one morning they saw a duck diving in the water. The Duck said, “Since new moon your daughter has been cast out by Frozen.”’ The duck dived again, came up, and repeated the same, “Since new moon your daughter has been cast out by Frozen.” Then South Wind said to his four sons, ‘My sons, go north and bring back your sister from the house of Chief North Wind!” There- fore Proud Rain-Wind went northward through the air in the form of a large cloud; but before he had gone halfway a strong north wind began to blow, and all the clouds were driven away. ‘The sister was sitting out there, and saw her brother coming. She cried aloud when he was driven away. Again Chief South Wind said, ‘‘Now, you go, my second son!” Then Excrement Face went northward. Then the princess saw a black cloud come toward her. When the black cloud had come half- way, the north wind began to blow very hard, and drove it away. Then the princess cried bitterly, and said, “Oh, my brother Excre- ment Face has been driven away!” Now Chief South Wind said to his third son, ‘Go up there, my son Rain Under The Knee!’’ He went; and showers of rain came, and soon he had passed more than half the distance. The north wind blew very hard, and the rain froze and he was driven away. Then the princess cried more bitterly, and said, as before, “Oh, my brother Rain Under The Knee has been driven away!”’ 124 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ErH. ANN. 31 Then the father said to his last son, “Go north, my son Going Behind Mountains, and bring back your sister!’”? At midnight Going Behind Mountains went swiftly northward in the shape of a cloud, sharp at each end. Then the north wind began to blow harder and harder, but the cloud Gog Behind Mountains was not driven away. Its sharp ends passed all the mountains and slowly went northward. The princess was crying, fearmg that her last brother might be driven away as the others had been, for she knew that she would die there on the ice if he should not succeed. Now, the little cloud stopped a while and went on slowly. At last it reached the village of North Wind and gained a great victory on that day. Therefore the north wind ceased to blow. Then all the brothers came with heavy rain, and all the ice was melted away, and the house of North Wind was full of water from the heavy rain; and the sister-in-law of the princess was floatimg about in the house, saying, “Take me with you, sister-in-law, lest I perish in this cold water!” and the princess took the floating piece of ice and put it on her right leg. Therefore women’s legs are cold up to this day. Now, when the ice was nearly melted, Chief North Wind said to the four princes, “Take away your sister, and come no more to my country!” Then the four brothers said, ‘We shall take away from you two months, and you shall have only four months.” Chief North Wind did not reply. The four brothers continued, “If you do not agree to this, we shall kill you right now.” Therefore North Wind agreed to what they said. Therefore the winter lasts four months, and the three chiefs have among them eight months. Now, the four brothers and their sister went to their own country; and when they arrived at their father’s house, the father was very glad to see his daughter back again. Therefore he invited the neigh- boring Winds with their children. He told them of the hard life that his daughter had led when she lived in the house of North Wind. He continued, ‘She was in such distress that I had to send my sons to take her back, and my sons fought for many days with the people of North Wind. At last my sons won the victory over them. The reason why I sent my sons was to take away from North Wind two months, and let him keep only four months.” West Wind said, ‘ Let each of us have three months! North Wind shall have only three months in winter, South Wind shall have three months in the fall, I will have three months in summer, and East Wind shall have three months in spring.” Then the three chiefs agreed. Therefore the seasons have three months throughout the year. The new law they made was better than the first. noas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 1125 The chiefs went up to North Wind and told him so, and he also agreed, and therefore this law among the winds continues up to this day. f 11. Tae Srory or NArQ! In early times, when the people were multiplying, and lived in the large town on the plains on the upper course of Skeena River which we call now Prairie Town—that is, where the village of our forefathers used to be—the people used to play the greater part of the night im the open air. The young men would play all kinds of games, and they went out night after night to the open space on the level ground behind their houses. There were a great many people, and there was a crowd of young men, of women, and of children. Therefore they made much noise when they were on their playground until late in the night. One night they went out again, as usual, and began to play before it was dark. They started their first game, and another followed; and when they started still another game, they saw a beautiful plume descending slowly from the sky above them; and they all desired to have it, because it was beautiful to look at. A very tall young man went first, caught it, and put it on his head. As soon as he put it on his head, he was taken up by the plume which had come down from above. Another youth saw his friend hanging by the plume. He stepped up and took hold of his feet. His hand stuck to his friend’s feet, and the plume pulled them up. Another man took hold of the feet of the second one, and his hands stuck fast; and so all the young men stuck by the plume, which pulled them up to the sky. When the old men who were in the house heard that the children were being taken up by the beautiful plume, they came out, took hold of the heel of the last of the young men, and the old men stuck there too. The women came out, and one of them took hold of the heel of the last one of their husbands, and the women stuck fast. Then the children came out, and they all were taken up by the plume. Only one princess, the daughter of a great chief, who had just been delivered of a child, was left. All the people were taken up by the plume; and at last they dropped down from the plume, and all died. Their bodies formed a great pile. The young woman came out, and she wept bitterly over the pile of bodies; and while she was weeping, she wiped the mucus from her nose, and threw it down on the ground; and, behold! there was a baby boy formed from the mucus of her nose. She took a piece of grindstone and put it next to her body, and she took a little branch of a crabapple tree, which she put in her bosom, and also her feather. Then she took a little piece of shell and put it in her bosom; and when she came in, she wrapped the baby boy in marten garments. 1 Notes, p. 734 126 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [wri ANN. 31 Then she took out from her bosom the piece of grindstone, and it also became a baby boy, which she wrapped im a sea-otter garment; and she took out the little branch of the crabapple tree, and it, too, became a baby boy. She took out the little feather, and it be- came a baby boy. She took out the little piece of shell and it became a little girl. Then she gave names to the children. The first one, which originated from the mucus of her nose, she called Nalq (Mucus). This was the name of the eldest one. The second one she named Little Grindstone; the third one, Little Crabapple Tree; the fourth one, Little Feather; and the fifth one, Knife Hand. The children grew up; and when they became larger, they began to play in the open air, like the former people. Then they saw large piles of bones on the level ground; and when they came home, they asked their mother what they were. She told them what had hap- pened to the people—how they had played every night until the chief in heaven became displeased at their noise, and how the chief in heaven let a beautiful plume come down; that a tall young man took hold of it and put it on his head; and that it wafted all the former people up into the sky, young men, old men, women, and chil- dren. She continued, ‘And I am left alone. Therefore I tell you, beloved children, do not play always in the open, lest the Lord of Heaven waft you up, too.” The young people did not heed their mother’s warning, and the next morning they played again in the open, as their fathers had done in the days of old. They made much noise. Then the plume descended again from heaven. They stood still, gazing at the beauti- ful plume which was coming down; and as they looked up with amaze- ment, the youngest brother, Little Feather, took hold of the beautiful siem which wafted him up. When his elder brother, Mucus, saw Little Feather lifted from his feet, he took hold of him by the heels, and his hands stuck to him. The feather could hardly drag Mucus up, but at last his feet were lifted from the ground. Then the second brother, Little Grindstone, took hold of his brother’s feet, and he became a large rock on-the ground. It was hard to pull hira up, but at last his feet were lifted from the ground. Then the third brother took hold of his feet, and he became a large crabapple tree, whose roots were stretched out underground; and it was hard to drag him up, but finally the roots broke in the ground. Then the girl, Knife Hand, sharpened her hand; and as soon as Crabapple Tree’s roots were lifted from the ground, Knife Hand climbed up her brothers’ heads until she reached the head of her youngest brother, who had first taken hold of the beautiful plume; and she cut the air above the plume with her sharp hand, and the brothers dropped down and were like dead. nos] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS WONG Then the girl took the beautiful plume and swung it over her dead brothers’ bodies, and they came back to life. When they knew the powers of the plume, they went to the place where the bare bones were piled up on the ground, and they put the bones together, and joined those of one person to those of another. They put a man’s ‘head on a woman’s body, and they put women’s heads on men’s bodies, and all the bones were mixed together; and they put one leg of a tall man together with another of a short man. So we see now that some men have no beards, for they have women’s heads; and some women have whiskers because they have men’s heads; and some people limp because they have legs belonging to different persons ; and many other things besides these happened. Thus they assem- bled the bones. A large number of bones covered the plain; and after they had gathered the bones, Nalq took the beautiful plume and waved it over the bones where they were lying on the ground. The first time he moved the beautiful plume, behold! there was a noise; the bones shook and came together. He waved it a second time, and, lo! sinews and flesh came to be on the bones. He waved it a third time, and skin covered the flesh, but there was no breath in them. He waved it a fourth time; and while he thus swung the beautiful plume the fourth and last time, he said, ‘‘ Let air from the four winds come and breathe upon these bodies, that they may come to life again!” Then the four winds blew hard, and breath came back into the bodies, and they were alive, stood up, an exceedingly great multitude. Then the four young men went home to their mother. Their mother scolded them for having taken hold of the beautiful plume, and the young men were ashamed on account of the scolding they had received. Therefore they left home, and left their sister with their mother. They were about to travel over the whole world, and they went on and on until they arrived at the foot of a high, steep moun- tain. Behold! there was a blind man, with a bag net, sitting on a platform at the foot of the mountain. When they came near, Nalq said, ‘‘ I will touch his bag net, and see what he is going to do with it.”’ He touched the net, and the blind man pulled it up quickly. When he had hauled in his net, he said to himself, “Oh, dear! I have lost Nalq.”” Thus he said. Then they laughed, because the blind man knew them. This blind person caught people, whom he ate. They traveled on, farther and farther away. After some time they met a raccoon who was holding a little piece of wood in its mouth. The youngest brother, Little Feather, killed the poor little raccoon and threw it away from their trail. They went on and soon they came toa hut. Behold! a middle-aged woman came out and made them welcome. She invited them into 128 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 the house. She was very kind to the young people, and gave them to eat. She said, ‘Stay here a while and refresh yourselves from your long journey!’”’ While they were eating, the woman asked them, ‘Did you meet my granddaughter on your way here? She went out to get chips for a fire.” The four brothers replied that they had not met her; that they had seen only a raccoon on their way, which they had killed. Then the wrath of the old woman was great. She said, ‘Oh, oh, oh! Letevery hole closeup! Let the door close up! Let the smoke hole close up!”” And all the openings of the house began to close up, and the heat began to increase, and the four brothers felt the heat like that of an oven. However, before the smoke hole had closed, the youngest brother, in the form of bird’s down, ascended with the smoke through the smoke hole; and when he was outside, he ran quickly toward the raccoon which he had killed. He found the place where it was, wafted his beautiful plume over the body of the raccoon, and it came to life again. Then he helped the Raccoon to gather wood. The three others, however, were dying of the heat in the house. Little Feather returned quickly with the Raccoon; and as soon as they reached the door, the Raccoon called her grandmother, and said, ‘‘Grandmother, open the door for me and let me in!’’ As soon as the old woman heard her granddaughter’s voice, she said, ‘“ Let the door open, and let all the holes open! Let the smoke hole open!” And they all came out of the house safely. They continued their journey, and went on farther until they came to alargelake. Behold! there was beautiful green grass, and a variety of sweet-smelling flowers were around the lake. They went around the lake, and, behold! they saw a hut before them at one end of the lake with the beautiful sweet-scented breeze. When they came near the hut, a kindly old woman came forth to meet them. ‘Come in,” she said, “and refresh yourselves in my house, for you have made a long journey. Take a rest fora while.”” The men all went in, and the old woman was very kind to them. She gave them good clean food, and they ate. Before nightfall she showed them the place where to lie down in her hut, and she let them have her good warm blankets. She also told them that no danger would come near them as long as they were in the house. Before they went to bed, she gave them food again, so that they should take a good comfortable rest and sleep well. Soon after they had their meal, they were ready to sleep, and they immediately went to bed. The eldest brother, Natq, whispered to his brothers, ‘Brothers, don’t take too much sleep tonight, lest misfortune befall us and we all perish. Let some of us sleep, and others keep watch during the BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 129 night!’ They did so. Two of them went to sleep, and two of them kept watch. Before they were in bed, Nalq saw four poles standing behind the old woman’s bed, and around the end of each of these shredded cedar bark was wrapped. The old woman watched until her guests were asleep. At mid- night the men seemed to be asleep, but Nalq did not sleep. He was watching her, and he saw sparks coming from her mouth. The brothers were asleep and snoring; and when she heard that they were fast asleep, she arose gently from her bed, walked toward her guests, and took one of the poles with the shredded cedar bark at its end. Then she placed the cedar bark a little over the first one to catch his breath, and then she went to the other one, and to the third one. At last she went towards Nalq, and placed the cedar bark over his mouth far longer than over that of the others. Then she went back to her bed. Nalq saw all that she was doing. Then she placed the pole at the foot of her bed. The cedar bark at the end of it was quite wet from the moisture of the breath of the four brothers. Then she lay down, and was soon in a deep sleep. As soon as she lay down, sparks came forth from her mouth; but when she was in a deep sleep, only a few sparks came from her mouth. Nalq watched her; and as soon as the sparks ceased coming from her mouth, he arose from his bed and went up to her. He took one of the poles with the shredded cedar bark at its end, and held it a little above her mouth; and he held it there a long time, until the cedar bark was quite wet from the moisture of her breath. Then he put the pole at the foot end of her bed, and took away the pole in which she had caught the breath of her guests. Then he lay down again. Early the next morning she awoke, and arose without noise. ‘Nalq also arose secretly. He stood at the door, which was half open, looking on at what she was doing. She went down to the beach and shouted. She shouted four times. Then the water of the great lake began to heave, and, behold! a large Frog came up from’ the water. It came toward the old woman. When the large Frog was near her, she said, ‘‘Open your mouth, and I will feed you with four young men who staid in my house last night.’”” Thus she said to the Frog. Then the large Frog opened its big mouth wide, and the old woman threw her pole with the wet shredded cedar bark into it; and the large Frog swallowed it and went home. Before she re-entered, Natq went to his bed and snored loud. The ~ woman started her fire and called her guests, and she prepared their breakfast. She was a witch, who had killed many people that traveled past her house. Now, she had fed her supernatural power, the Frog, with the moisture of her own breath; and while her guests were taking their breakfast, she felt pain in her stomach, and became 50633°—31 eTH—16—9 130 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 worse and worse. She began to groan, and said to her guests, “T have brought misfortune on myself, great Nalq!”’ But the young man did not mind what she said. Soon her breath became less and less until she died. They went on their journey; and before they had gone far they saw another house. When they opened the door, behold! there were many bodies of killed people hanging about inside the house. Some of them were only bones. The young men put them on the ground near the beautiful lake; and after they had put them in good order, Nalq took the beautiful plume and waved it over the bodies, as he had done with his own people on the plain; and those who had been killed all came back to life after Nalq had waved his plume over them four times. When they were all alive again, Nalq asked them what had happened to them or who had killed them, and they replied that they had died in the house of a kindly woman on the other side of the lake. Then the four brothers told them that she had killed them with her supernatural power. Natq told them that there was a large Frog at the bottom of the lake. Thus he said to the men who had just come back to life. They traveled on and on until they came to a place between two mountains. They went on through the valley; and as they went along, the passage became narrower, until they saw that way off the two mountains formed a cave. They went on toward the cave until they came near it, and there they stopped. Nalq asked his brothers, ‘Dear brothers, which way shall we go?” and his three brothers replied, “Let us pass through the cave!” And while they were still speaking, the cave closed four times, like the twinkling of an eye, and it remained closed behind them, and they had no way of escape from it. The only way they could get out was under the twinkling cave. They counted the twinkling; and after they had counted four times, the cave opened slowly. Then Natq tried to go through first. He had three more steps to take, when the cave twinkled, and killed him there. Next the second brother, Little Grindstone, made ready. After he had counted four, he quickly went through; he had two more steps to take, and the cave twinkled again, and killed him also. Then the third brother made ready. They counted four. The cave opened slowly, and Little Crabapple Tree went through quickly. He had one step more to take, and the cave twinkled, and killed him also. Then the last brother made ready. He held the beautiful plume in his hands. He counted four, and the cave opened slowly. Then Little Feather flew through the cave, and took with him the crushed bodies of his brothers. He laid them out in good order, took his plume, waved it over them, and they came back to life. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Util The brothers went on their journey, and soon arrived at the city of the Air. One of the Air chiefs, North Wind, invited them in, and gave his daughter to Nalq to be his wife. Then another chief, South Wind, invited the other three brothers in, and gave his daughter to Little Grindstone to be his wife. Then another chief, East Wind, invited the two remaining ones in, and gave his daughter to Little Crabapple Tree to be his wife; and another chief, a beautiful man, invited Little Feather in, and gave him his daughter to be his wife. Now they were married. On the following day North-Wind Woman said to her husband, “Tet us travel about!’’ Nalq made ready to go with his wife, and it was not long before the north wind blew hard. Nalq went along with her. He felt cold, and mucus came from his nose. It fell on the water and became ice, and therefore ice goes along with the north wind. On the same day the South-Wind Woman asked her husband to travel with her. Little Grindstone was ready to go, and the south wind blew very hard. Then Grindstone, who fol- lowed her, let the water collect in his mouth, and blew it out up into the air, and it came down like rain. Therefore the rain goes with the south wind, and the people use water whenever they sharpen anything on a grindstone. Now, the followmg day East-Wind Woman asked her husband to journey with her, but Little Crabapple Tree was too lazy to go out with his wife; therefore the east wind blew harder and harder, trying to move her husband, but the roots of the Crabapple Tree spread out under the ground. Then the whirlwind blew with the east wind, and Little Crabapple Tree’s roots gave way, and he went along with his wife. Therefore whirl- winds come with the east wind. Again the following day the West-Wind Woman asked her hus- band to journey with her; and before they started, Little Feather said to his wife, ‘Don’t blow so hard, lest you fall behind me, for I am faster than you!’’ and the west wind blew gently. She went along with him all round the world; and therefore the west winds blow gently now, for she is afraid of falling behind her husband, Little Feather; and these four brothers help the four winds now and for all time to come, and we are always reminded of the deeds of these four brothers. That is the end. 12. THe Frast or THE Mountain Goats! When the people lived in our own village on the upper course of Skeena River, which is named Prairie Town, there were many hunters among them. They often went out hunting, and succeeded in catching many animals. Among them were six brothers who were 1 Notes, p. 738. 132 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 very good hunters. Every fall they used to go hunting mountain goats, and they killed many goats at a time. They took only the kidney fat and intestine fat of the goats, and left all the meat behind. The goats were distressed by their actions, for the hunters did not burn either bones or meat. The six brothers did this every fall. In the following spring they went up the same mountain and killed many mountain goats, as they had done before, and they caught a kid and took it down to their home. Then the children took the kid to the river and threw it out into the water. The poor little thing tried to swim ashore; but as soon as it got ashore, the children took it again and threw it into the water, and they laughed when they saw how funny the little kid looked when it was swimming. The children did so many times, and the little kid was very cold. Then the children built a fire, and let the kid lie down on one side of it to get warm; and some of the children pushed the kid into the fire,so that the hair began to burn, and then threw it again into the water, and they shouted with pleasure. Then a young man came down to hear what the noise of the children meant. He went down to the children that were playing with the little kid, and he took the poor little kid out of their hands, and rubbed its hair with his hands to wipe off the water from the wool. The name of this young man was Really Black.t| He guided the kid way back from the village until they reached the foot of a high mountain, and he said, ‘‘Go on, supernatural one, go on!” The people forgot what the children had done to the kid; and before the next fall drew near, messengers came down to the village. They went to every house, and invited everybody—men, women, and children and old people—and told them to go and build a new village at the foot of a high mountain, right on the prairie. The people of the town received this message gladly, and the chiefs invited the messengers into their houses, as was the custom. On the following morning the people were ready to go. They followed the messengers until the evening, going along the prairie, as the messen- gers told them; and before evening they saw a large new house, and sparks flying out of the smoke hole of the large house. The messen- gers ran ahead, and a great multitude of people came out and stood on the prairie a little way from the front of the large house, waiting for the people to meet them. When the other messengers came up and met them, they went towards the buildmg; and before the guests entered the building, the people all came out dancing, as is the custom when a chief invites another tribe. The dancers wore headdresses representing mountain goats, and their blankets were goat skins. After they had danced, the people went into the house; and while 1Tu full, Really Black Raven Feather.—F. B. — poas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 133 going into the house, they sang a song, as is their custom; and when they were all in, one of the young men came along and went to meet the youth whose name was Really Black, and spoke to him. “Friend, I want you to go with me, and let us sit on the other side of that post there!” They went together, and sat down behind the post. Then the chief began to dance, and they sang the first song accompanying the chief’s dance; and a beautiful mountain stood in the middle of the building, inside the house. When the first song was ended, they began another one; and this is their song: ' : — SS SESE : —Ae . = M } = CY e = | = Ne 2S Be rat @ 2 i Oyiyiyeahaa yiyiyea hayiyea a Na-sta sga-nis-da ha a yiyiyea hayiyea a Wil ligi-sgrret n-na°q-i-gwa yiyiyea hayiyea a Awil gun-dad wa°kget yiylyea-hayiyea a T’in sa-k4faxst sga-nisi ylyiyea hayiyea a “*O yiyi yea haa! on one side of a high mountain I laid my hoof, because the prince of the Mountain Goats kicked down the side of the mountain.”’ When the next song began, behold! a mountain goat was seen coming along the mountain, with one horn on its head. It came down from the top of the mountain, jumping, until it reached the foot of the mountain; and all the people said, “It looks like a real mountain goat.” When the last song was being sung, the Mountain Goat leaped in front of the guests, and kicked the front of the house. He leaped to one side and kicked it again; and the house and the whole floor broke down, and all the people were destroyed alongside the high mountain. Only the one youth, Really Black, was saved. He had been sitting behind the house post, which had now become a little spruce tree way up on a high mountain. There was no way of escape for him, for the rocks were very steep above and below. He began to look down below, and on the next morning he was crying for fear; but bis friend lay by his side, sleeping soundly, until the sun was high up in the sky. While the youth Really Black was still weeping, the young man who was sleeping by his side woke up, and said, “‘ What is the matter with you, friend?” and Really Black, full of fear, said, ‘It is because all my people have been buried by this steep mountain, and I have no way of escape from this steep place.” Then the youth who had been asleep said, “Do you know who invited your people in?” Really Black said, “No.” Then the 1 Music and words were recorded by Mr. Tate. The adjustment of words and music does not appear clearly from his manuscript.—F.B. 134 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ETH. ANN. 31 youth replied, “The Mountain Goats have done it, because they were distressed by your people hunting them every year and catching them; for the hunters did not take them home, but left them among the mountains; and there the bones of the Mountain Goats would decay and be scattered about, instead of being burned—meat, skins, bones, and all. Therefore the Goats took vengeance on your people. You, however, are the one who took pity on me when the children of your people threw me out into the river last spring, and you kindly led me away, back to yonder village, to enjoy my freedom, and there- fore I will help you from this steep mountam. Do not be afraid: You shall get down safely. I shall give you my blanket.” Really Black felt encouraged by what his friend said to him, but still he was full of fear. The young Goat put on his skin, and said, “T shall show you what to do.”’ Before he leaped, he said, ‘“‘On the thumb!” and then turned his head towards a deep chasm in the rock. He leaped again, and said, ‘‘On the sand!” and so on, until he came down. Then Really Black lost sight of him. He began to cry again and to weep, for he had lost sight of his friend, and he sat down by the little spruce tree; and while he was crying bitterly, a young Goat came down from above him from the top of a high shding mountain, and he came to the man who was full of fear, and said, ‘“‘ You see there is no danger init. Try it!” Then the poor man took the Goat’s garment with fear and trembling, and put it on himself. The young Goat told him not to be afraid, and that no harm would befall him. He gave his friend good advice: “Before you leap, say these words, ‘On the thumb;’ and when you leap to the other side, then say, ‘On the sand;’ and repeat these words all along until you get down safely; and when you get down safely, pick out your relatives among the bodies. Put them in good order, as Many as you want to live. When you have done so, jump over the bodies until they come back to life. You shall jump over them four times; and hang my blanket on a branch of the tree below, and then go home with your relatives and your people.’ Thus spoke the young Goat to his friend Really Black. As soon as the speech of Really Black’s friend was ended, he started, and said as his friend had commanded him. He said, ‘‘On the thumb!” Then he jumped, wearing the skin of the young Goat, and his foot stuck firmly to the rock. Then he turned his head another way; and before he leaped he said, ‘‘On the sand!” and his foot stuck. Then he went down without fear, and soon came to the foot of the high steep mountain. There he gathered the bodies of his relatives, (put them in good order as his friend the Goat had commanded him, and he jumped over them four times, and all the bodies came back to life.) Then the young man Really Black Raven Feather hung his friend’s blanket on the branch of a tree, and they all went home. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 11635) On the following day the young man called all his relatives, and . they went to the foot of the steep mountain, where the bones of the goats lay, piled them up, and burned them all; and they walked around the burnt bones. They also burned the meat and the skins. In those days the people did not speak badly of animals of any kind. They burned the bones and the meat of the animals, and did not leave the bones on the mountains. It is said that when a hunter burned the bones and meat, then the animals would recover from their sickness; but as long as the bones lay scattered on the ground, then the animals’ sickness would grow worse and worse, and they could not be cured. This is what the young Goat told his friend behind the little spruce tree on the slope of the sliding mountain. This is the end. 13. THe Grant DervitrisH * A long time ago a good hunter went out with four men in his canoe. They went around a large island. Soon they saw Killer Whales jumping here and there. There were many of them, and the hunters went ashore to hide from them. Soon they saw a good-sized Killer Whale jumping out of the water at the foot of a high precipice. Sud- denly they saw that he floated dead on the surface, his belly upward, and all the Killer Whales were floating there. The hunters had camped at this place in the evening. Early the following morning the chief hunter awoke and went out of their hut. There he saw many Killer Whales coming from all directions, for the prince of the Killer Whales had been killed by the Giant Devilfish on the preceding day when the hunters had passed the island. The Living Depths Horror was the den of the Giant Devilfish at the foot of that great precipice. When the great monster had killed the prince of the Killer Whales, the chief of the Killer Whales sent his messengers to all parts of the world, and called his people to his village. He gave them a great feast, and told them that his only son had been killed by the great -monster who lived at the foot of the great precipice. He said, “‘T want you to come and help me kill it, because it will always be very dangerous to our children.’ Then all the chiefs of the Killer Whales agreed. Therefore they all assembled that morning when the hunter saw them all around on the water. Now, the hunters all came out and saw them, and they heard them speak like men. All the Killer Whales have only four clans, lke human beings. The chief of each clan called his warriors to kill the great monster. The crests of each clan of these Killer Whales are on their dorsal fins. The Eagles have a white line in the middle of the dorsal fin; the Wolves have a long dorsal fin like a wolf’s tail; 1 Notes, p. 739. 136 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 the Ganha’da have a short fin like a raven’s beak; and the G:ispawad- we’da have a flat short dorsal fin with a round hole in the middle. The chief of the Eagle Clan had been killed a few days before. Therefore he was the first to call his warrior to go and attack the monster. He jumped and dived into the deep sea and fought against the Giant Devilfish. (The devilfish’s mouth is in the middle of its arms, and it drawsits prey intoit. Inthe middle of very many suckers is a skin which can be pulled back; and when this is drawn back, the sawlike edge of the mouth is pressed against the victim.) When the first warrior had been there a while, he came up dead, and one sucker from the arms also came. Another one was called. He dived down into the deep and continued to fight with the mon- ster. He staid a little longer than the first one. Then he came up to the surface dead, and two giant arms also came to the surface. Thus they continued to battle until the last warrior of the Killer Whales had gone and had cut off one arm. He also came up dead, and many dead Killer Whales were floating on the water. Then the chief of the G:ispawadwe’da called his warriors to fight the monster. The chief said, ‘‘I will send two at atime.’ All the Whales agreed to this, and two went down to the bottom at a time. Then half of the arms of the monster came up with their dead bodies. Another two went, and brought up another half of the arms that remained after the first two Whales had come up dead. When the warriors of the Gispawadwe’da had obtained two arms, all their warriors had perished. Now, the Wolf Clan came forward, and the chief of the Wolves said, “I will send down four of my Wolves at a time.” They all agreed to this. Therefore the chief sent out four warriors to fight the great Living Depths Horror. They staid there a little longer, and came up dead, and one giant arm came up floating on the water. Another four were sent down. They staid in the deep a long time, and then came up with many wounds on their dead bodies, and another giant arm floated on the water. Then all the Wolves’. warriors had perished. Now, the Raven Clan came forward. The three clans had already obtained five of the monster’s giant arms, which floated among the dead bodies of the Killer Whales. Then the chief of the Raven Clan said, “You are a brave clan. You have obtained five giant arms of the monster of the deep. My relatives are weak. We can not do as much as you, but let us try all we can to do the best and fight against the monster!”” Then he called one of his warriors. He called him by name. “Now, Bird Garment will go first! Kall that monster that has slain all our bravest people and our prince!” Then the young Killer Whale jumped on the water three times. He went down; and after he had been there a short time, a giant arm came up on the water, and Bird Garment also came up to the —— Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 137 surface. He took a short rest; and the chief called him again. “Where are you now, Bird Garment?’ He jumped three times, then he went down again. He staid a little longer, and another giant arm came up and drifted on the surface of the water. Bird Garment followed it. He had obtained two great arms, and he floated on the water, weary. The body of this great Killer Whale was not hurt by the monster. He was only tired out. Again his chief called him, and said, “Now, my brave man Bird Garment, where are you? Try once more!” Then the brave Killer Whale jumped on the water and dived. He staid under the water for a long time, and all the Killer Whales thought that he had been killed by the monster of the deep. Finally he came up again with a giant arm in his mouth. Then all the tribes of the Killer Whales shouted for joy and struck their tails on the water, saying, “Bird Garment is a warrior.’ And when their shouting ceased, he said, “Only two of his long arms remain. Now, I desire you to be with me when I go down again.” Therefore the brave Killer Whales took courage, and many of them went down with Bird Garment. They bit off those arms, and Bird Garment went right to the heart of that fearful monster. Finally the two remaining arms were cut off from the body, and so all the brave Killer Whales brought up the great monster’s body, and the clan of Bird Garment became the first of all the clans of the Killer Whales. The Killer Whales had gained the victory over that great monster; but Bird Garment was the bravest among all of them, for he alone cut off three arms of the monster. The hunters saw all these things, and they understood all the Killer Whales had said during the fight with the great monster. Many years passed, and the young one of the old Devilfish was grownup. He lived in the same place, and was worse than the former one. He took down every person that passed by his place. Some- times he took down canoes with the hunters and animals. One day an Eagle seated on the top of a high cliff saw a spring- salmon passing that place. He flew down swiftly and caught the spring salmon with his long claws. The salmon struggled on the water, and another Eagle came down swiftly to help him. Then the young monster came up with his mouth wide open and swallowed the two Eagles and the spring salmon. The two young Eagles were the children of an Eagle chief. He was very sorry to know that his two children had been caught by the Devilfish. He mourned many days, and his people came to comfort him, but he would not listen to them on account of his great love for his children. At last one of his warriors said to him, “Call all the large birds, and we will make war against the monster.’ Therefore the sad 138 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 chief agreed. He sent his messengers and called all kinds of large birds. The Thunderbirds came, the great Mountain Eagles, Hawks, Ravens, and all kinds of birds; and when all the birds were in, Chief Eagle told them that the monster had killed his sons while they were catching a spring salmon at the foot of the precipice. He continued, “My people here like to go and fight him.” After Chief Eagle had spoken, Thunderbird spoke, and said, ‘I will go with you; I hate him!’”’ Mountain-Eagle Chief also said, “T will go with you when you fight against him;”’ and Chief Hawk and Chief Raven said the same, and all the birds said the same. On the followmg morning they went to the top of the precipice. Chief Eagle said, “One of my warriors shall go first, and all his fellows shall follow him.” Therefore the Eagle warrior flew right down; and when the great monster saw him flapping his wings above his den, he came out, his mouth first; with which he intended to swallow all the Eagles. He opened his mouth and devoured all the Eagles. Thunderbird came down next, thundering and lightening; and when the giant monster felt the water trembling, he put out two long arms. The lightning struck them, and the two arms were killed. Then all the birds flew down. The Devilfish was very angry. He opened his mouth, intending to swallow all of them. When the Raven saw the mouth open, he flew down, went right into the mouth, and plucked out the great monster’s heart with his sharp beak, and so the giant monster died there. Thus another Raven clan also gained the victory. Therefore the Giant Devilfish is afraid of the Ravens up to this time. When the people in olden times saw a devilfish coming up under a canoe, sometimes a man would sing out like a raven, “Caw, caw, caw!” Then the great monster would die before it came to the surface of the water. The devilfish would always die when it heard the sound of the raven’s voice; but if a person waited until the monster came to the surface of the water and then sang out, it was in vain, and the great monster would swallow him, canoe and all. Therefore the hunters would watch for devilfish in the water. These two stories of the Devilfish are connected. This is the end. 14. Tae Hunter’s Wire Wao Became A BEAVER 2 A man and his dear wife went out hunting raccoons. He went to his hunting-ground where they had been many times before, and he 1 See p. 100. 2Tn olden times the people were skillful hunters, because the skins and meat of animals were very useful to them; for their clothing was made of the skins and furs of animals. Therefore they hunted grizzly bear, black bear, and mountain goat. All these were very useful animals. They spun the wool of the mountain goat and made yarn of it, and then it was woven into dancing-blankets and cloaks. The wool was used for many objects; and they used the skins of all kinds of animals, great and small. Therefore they were very good hunters. Thus it was with one family.—HENRY VW’. TATE.—Notes, p. 739. a ee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 139 built his hunting-lodge there. Many days passed by after they had reached this place. One morning the man went out to put up his raccoon traps, while his wife staid at home in the camp. The man came home late in the evening; and two days later he went to look after his traps, which he hac put up a few days before. He had built many all along the valley. When he came to his traps, they all had caught animals, and he set them again. Then he carried the raccoons to the camp, and his wife was very glad to see her husband’s good luck. Late at night he finished his work, and on the following morning he began to skin the raccoons, and his wife helped him. They dried the skins and the meat, and both worked all day until late at night. On the following day he went again to his traps, and he caught more than he had before. His wife helped him carry the animals to the camp, and early the next morning they skinned the animals. The woman was very happy because her husband had caught many raccoons. The sun was shining on their camp when she went to the place where her husband was working. She said, ‘‘My dearly beloved husband, just look at me for a while!’? The man had no time to look at her, and did not pay attention to what his wife said. She, however, forced him to look at her. When she thus compelled him to look at her, the man said, ‘‘ You are no better than these raccoons. ’’ Then the woman was very much ashamed, and left her husband weeping. She sat down on the bank of a brook that ran between those two mountains. There she was sitting and weeping; but her husband did not pay any attention to her, because he had much work to do with the animals he had killed. The woman continued to ery. When her husband saw this, he said to her, ‘‘Stop erying, my dear, and come home with me!”’ but she replied, ‘‘No, I won’t; I am no better than these raccoons. I am ashamed on account of what you have said to me. Go away! I am no better than the raccoons.” She cried again; and so her husband went away, and went on with his work. She continued to weep. Before the sun went down she felt very warm, and therefore she stopped crying and went down to the little river to cool herself. She took gravel and small pebbles and dammed up the water to make a small pool, in which she intended to swim. Soon the water began to rise to her knees. Then she took more stones and gravel to dam up the water. There was a rock in the middle of the pool which she had made. She went there and rested on it. When the sun went down, her husband came down and called her ashore; but she refused to come, and said, ‘‘I am no better than your raccoons. J am much ashamed on account of what you said to me.”’ Then the man saw her swimming about in the pond. Late in the 140 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 night he went home; but his wife was still in the water, and staid there all through the night. The man did not sleep. He heard his wife striking the water with her apron whenever she turned. Early the next morning he arose and went down to look after his wife. Then he saw a lake below the camp, and his wife swimming about in it. Therefore the man stood on the shore of the lake and cried, ‘‘Come home, my dear wife! You know I love you better than any one. Come home, now! Do come home!” She replied, “No, you love the raccoons better than me. I shall never come back to you.”’ She still worked at her dam, and she would strike the water with her small leather apron whenever she dived.! Then the man was very sorry. He kept on watching for several days, and would call his wife to come ashore; but she would only reply, ‘‘I am very much ashamed on account of what you said to me. Go home, and tell my brothers that I am not dead. I am going to live in this lake all by myself.” Therefore the man went down to his village. When he reached home, he went to his wife’s brothers and told them what had become of his wife. Then these six brothers went with their sister’s husband to the hunting-ground. When they reached there, behold! there was a large lake between the two mountains, and a beaver’s house in the center. The six brothers stood on the shore of the lake, full of sorrow, together with their brother-in-law. Then the eldest one said, ‘‘My only sister, we have come to take you down to our home.”’ Then she came swimming and stopped in front of them, and said, ‘‘No, I will not come. Leave me alone! I am well off here. My husband is not angry with me, but I am ashamed of myself. No, I will never go down with you, but look well after my poor husband! Don’t hurt him! Tintend to stay here by myself. Any time you want to come, visit me.’’ After she had said these words she dived. Then the six brothers lifted their voices and wept. She emerged on the other side of the large lake. Then the brothers went home full of sorrow. After two months had passed, they went up to the valley again; and when they reached there, there was a very large lake between the two mountains. It covered the whole valley; and they saw their sister diving, and they saw also three large round objects floating in the middle of the large lake, with three young beavers on them. The woman had been very good-looking. Her hair was reddish. The brothers were standing on the shore weeping, and their sister came toward them. Then the eldest brother said again, ‘‘ Will you 1In olden times men as well as women used to wear a small piece of leather as an apron. They used soft leather of a good quality, as wide as the palm of the hand. They used to fasten both ends in the belt in front and behind, and the body was bare. They wore only loose garments. The men had no coats, nor shirts, nor trousers, nor suits of clothing. The women also had no petticoats, as they have now. Thus it was with this woman.—HENRY W. TATE. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 141 not come down with us?” but she could not speak a word. She just dived in front of them. Her leather apron had become a beaver’s tail, and her body was covered with dark-brown fur. She was afraid that her brothers had seen her children swimming about with her. Then the brothers went home again full of sorrow. The six brothers could not forget her. The following spring they went again to visit her, and they found the large lake full of beavers. There they stood on the shore weeping; and as they stood there weeping, behold! a large Beaver came toward them with a green cottonwood tree in her mouth. Her face was not yet covered with hair. Then the eldest brother said to her, ‘‘My only sister, will you not come down with us to our house?”’ but she could not speak. She just dived in front of them, seeming to say that she could not doit. Then the brothers wept bitterly and went home once more. Now, the brothers considered what they could do with their sister, and finally decided to break the dam. Therefore the following spring they set out, went to the lake that their sister had built, and they worked, trying to break down the dam. Before they started their work they had seen that the large lake was full of beavers, but their sister was not among them. Then they worked on until the dam began to break down and the water burst out; and before the lake was emptied many beavers came out of the empty lake. All the beavers escaped and fled away from them, and scattered all over the land, but the mother-beaver was not with them. Therefore when the big lake was empty, the brothers went into the lake-bed to see if their sister were still there. They went into the beaver houses, and at last they found her right in the bottom of the lake. Her body was all covered with fur, but her face was still the same. She could not speak. Her finger-nails were like animal claws, and her leather apron had become a beaver tail. She was glad to see her brothers. She died right there, because she was on dry ground. Therefore the people say that all the beavers are females, not males, because the woman was their ancestor; and also because the woman’s hair was brown, therefore all the beavers haye brown fur, no black. ‘This is the end. 15. Tae Winter Hunters AND THE Mosqutro! In olden times the people used to hunt in the winter and travel way up the mountains. Once upon a time there were ten brothers who went hunting. Their wives accompanied them. They went on and on far away from their home. They passed many mountains, valleys, and rivers, and after many days they finally came to the top of a mountain. They looked down into the valley, and, behold! there was smoke at the foot of the mountain. Therefore they said 1Notes, p. 740. 142 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 to one another, “Let us go down and camp in these houses!” for it - was near the end of the day. So they slid down on their snowshoes, and soon came to the end of a village. The people came out to meet them when they came down, and each family invited one of the strangers into their house. They said, ‘We are told that ten brothers with their wives have arrived, and the youngest brother has a young wife with a child.” The chief of the village invited the youngest one into his house, and also his young wife with her child. When the chief gave them their supper, and while they were eating, the child began to cry. The mother was very hungry, and did not mind the crying of the child. Therefore a middle-aged woman who was seated on the other side of the fire asked the young mother to let her have the child while she was eating, and the young woman’gave her the child. The child kept on crying and screaming. Therefore the old woman put her mouth to the baby’s ear and sang this song: “A, a, a, ye! A, a,a, ye!”’ ‘Thus sang the old woman into the baby’s ear. Then the child began to cry less and less until it stopped. The child’s mother always looked over to her child while she was eating; and after she had finished, she went over. She thought her child was sound asleep. Soon after her meal she saw that her child was hanging on the arm of the old woman. She took her child from her, and, behold! it was dead in the arms of the old woman. The young mother did not ery, but only wrapped the child in her marten blanket, and saw, when she examined it, that blood was oozing out of the baby’s ear where the old woman had put her mouth. Therefore the young woman told her husband, ‘‘My dear, the inhabit- ants of this village are not real people; they are strange beings. Go to your brothers, and tell them what has happened to our child while we were eating our meal.” So the young man went to his brothers and told them what had become of their little child, and gave orders to his brothers not to sleep, to avoid danger. He said, “‘ While these people are asleep, let us escape the same way that we came sliding down!” Late in the evening the people of the village went to bed. The two young people were full of sorrow on account of the death of their child. Not long after the people had gone to bed, the chief arose again, and crept toward the young couple. Then they made a noise, and coughed when the chief was close to the place where they lay; and when the chief heard the coughing, he ran away and lay down again in his own place. After a while another man in the house arose and came toward them. When he was near by, they coughed, and the man crept away from them. Thus it happened with all the brothers and their hosts. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 143. Just before daybreak all the people of the village were sound asleep. Then the strangers went out secretly, and all met at the end of the village and went up the mountain. Before they reached the top of the mountain, they looked back, and, behold! a multitude of people came in pursuit, climbing the side of the steep mountain. Then the few strangers were in trouble; and when they reached the sliding snow, they held a counsel, and they agreed that when their pursuers were close behind them, they would try to cause an avalanche to destroy them. So the ten men and ten women worked hard in the snow. They used their staffs with mountain-goat horn at the points to dig across a large snowbank that hung on one side of the mountain; and when the multitude that pursued them was close behind them, they threw down a large piece of snow, and they all perished, and were swept away under the avalanche. Then the ten couples had a rest on top of the snow, for they were weary after their labor; and while they were there, behold! another multitude of people came behind them, more than before, and the hearts of the ten couples failed. Now, the youngest one said, “Let our hearts not fail us! Let us all have courage!’’ and so they began again to work with their staffs, and dug out the snow; and when the many people who pursued them were near to them, they broxo oif a large piece of snow, which fell down over the people that pursued them, and they all perished in the avalanche. Still another multitude of people were coming along, and they also perished in an avalanche. They had done this several times, and at last the chief came up to them alone. He was a short, stout man. He came up to them quickly, so that the ten couples had no time to loosen the snow. This was the Mosquito Town, and the old woman in the chief’s house drank the baby’s blood through its ear. The chief's name was Baboudina (7). He was pursuing the ten couples because his people had been destroyed by the avalanches. His proboscis was of pure crystal. He ran rapidly toward them, and killed the first one with his crystal proboscis. Then he went to the other one, and the rest ran away from him, but he pursued them. Finally only one young woman was left. She was younger than all the others, and ran faster than they. She was the mother of the child that was killed in the house of Chief Baboudina. She ran more quickly than the chief; and when she arrived at a lake, she ran into the water; and while she was walking in the water, she saw a tree slanting over the lake. She went to it and climbed to the top. There she staid. As soon as she reached 144 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ern ann, 31 the top of the tree, behold! Baboudina was coming along, following the scent of her footprints right down to the water. ‘Then he lost her tracks and looked about in the water. At last he saw the young woman sitting in the water. Then he jumped in and tried to kill her; but he could not do it, for he only saw the young woman’s reflection in the water of the lake. He came out of the water again, and the water was full of dirt and mud. He stood on the shore waiting until the mud cleared away. When it was clear, he saw the woman again sitting at the same place. He dived again, and tried to get her in the mud, but could not catch her. He came out again, and stood on the shore looking into the water, waiting until it cleared, and soon the water was clear again. Therefore the woman laughed at him, because he was so foolish; and as soon as the water was clear, he saw the woman laughing and scorning him, as he thought. Therefore he was very angry, and dived once more, and staid in the water a long while. He came out again and was furious. He felt quite chilly because he had been in the water a long while. He remained standing at the same place, waiting for the water to clear again. The sun had almost set before the water was clear. Then he saw the young woman laughing and scorning him. Full of anger because the young woman was mocking him, he jumped again into the water and kicked and beat the mud in the bottom of the lake. He staid there a long while; and when he came out again, he was very chilly. Then he tied up all his long hair on the top of his head, and made it round like a ball. His whole body was shaking, for he felt so cold. The sun had gone down in the west; and he stood there, his body shaking, and the ball of hair moving quickly. This made the woman laugh very much when she saw it. When the water was clear once more, Baboudina saw the young woman laughing again, and he plunged in. He did not care about the cold. He forgot all about it, and he staid there twice as long as he had before. Finally he came out of the water. He walked very slowly ashore, for he felt very cold. The moon was shining, the sky was clear, and the north wind was blowing, and soon he was frozen to death. His wings were frozen to the ground. The woman saw him lying there dead. : She did not believe that he was really dead. Therefore she took a rotten branch, and threw it toward the place where he lay; but he did not move. Then she came down from the tree and went to the place where he lay and kicked him, but he was quite dead. Then she took her fish-knife made of shell, which she wore under her shirt about her neck, and cut himopen. She took out his heart; Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 145 but the heart had two eyes and a mouth, and was still living. It looked at the young woman, and the young woman was afraid of it. She took it down to the bodies of her companions. When she came to the one who was last killed, she swung the heart over him, and he arose again after she had swung it over him four times. Then she went to another one and swung the live heart of Baboudina over his body, and he came to life. She went to all her companions who had been killed; and when they were all alive again, they were all very happy; and the young woman told them that she had killed the chief of the Mosquitoes, that he was lying dead by the lake. Then they all wanted to go and see him. The following day they went there, and found the place where he lay dead. They examined the body, and saw that the proboscis was of pure crystal. Then they said to one another, ‘‘Let us burn him up right here!” They started a fire, and put his dead body on the fire. His heart also was burned, and only the ashes remained there. And some of the people blew into the fire where they had burned Baboudina, and blew the ashes of the dead chief’s body about. Then all the ashes flew upward, and thus the ashes of Baboudina became small mosquitoes. Therefore mosquitoes remain on earth now. After they had finished this, they all went home safely. 16. THe Hunters! There were ten princes who went out hunting. When they arrived at their camping-place, they built a hut. Their wives accompanied them. Only the youngest brother had no wife. After they had finished their hut, the eldest brother went alone to hunt porcupine; and when he was a short way off from the camp, behold! he saw a large, fat porcupine coming toward him. He clubbed it, tied its hind lees and hung it on a tree. He went on and climbed a rock. When he reached the top, behold! there was a white she-bear. He went up to her and shot her with his arrow; and when the man saw that the bear was dead, he went on to the top of the mountain a little higher up, desirous of seeing the other side. He did so; and when he reached the top, he looked down on the other side of the steep mountain. There he saw a village at the foot of the mountain, and smoke rising from it. He slid down the ice on his snowshoes, and came to the side of the first house. He looked through a knot-hole, and, behold! a young woman was alone in that house. She looked at the man and smiled at him. She said, ‘‘Come in, my dear!” Then the people in the next house questioned her, and asked, “Did any one come to see you?” and she replied, ‘‘Yes, it is so.” 1 Notes, pp. 741, 759. 50633°—31 ETH—16——10 146 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 This last house belonged to a chief. Then the chief said to the woman, “Send him to me, that I may give him to eat.” Then the woman said to the young man, ‘‘Go to the chief’s house, for he invites you in!’ Therefore he went; and when he entered, a crowd of young men came to meet him at the door. They took all his weapons and examined them, and they made him sit down on one side of the large fire. Then the chief ordered his attendants to prepare food for him, and they did so. They gave him rich, fat food; and while he was eating, the young men brought in all the weapons which they had taken from him. When it was late in the evening, the chief gave him some fur blankets—marten blankets and raccoon blankets—and the hunter slept soundly. Early the following morning somebody shouted, ‘‘The grizzly bears are coming down on the other side of the river!’”’ Therefore the chief said, “Let the good hunters go and killthem!’”’ Then the hunter took all his weapons and went across the river, and he took his first quartz arrow to shoot the grizzly bear, but his bow broke. Then he took his spear, but his spear broke. Then the great grizzly bear came to him and killed him right there. Then the chief whose guest he had been the night before cut him in two and hung him up in one corner in the front of his house. Now, the second brother set out to search for his elder brother, who had been lost a few days previous. He took all his weapons, hung his quiver over his side, took his spear over his shoulder, and his good bow, and started. After he had left the camp a little while, behold! there was a large fat porcupine which met him on his way. He clubbed the porcupine, tied its hind legs, and hung it on a tree, as his elder brother had done before. He went a little farther; and when he reached the top of the rock, he saw a very fine white she-bear feeding on the green grass before him. He crept up to her secretly and shot her. The bear fell on the green grass. He went up to her, and wanted to see the top of the mountain a little above him. When he reached the top of the moun- tain, he looked down on the other side, and saw the smoke rising from a large village at the foot of the steep mountain. Then he slid down on his snowshoes; and when he came to the side of the first house, he went around and looked through a knot- hole; and the woman inside looked at him, smiled at him, and invited him in. Again the people next door, in the house of the chief, asked the woman, “‘ Did any one come to you 2”’ and she replied ‘‘ Yes.’”’ There- fore the chief said, “‘ Let him come to be my guest!” and so the young woman sent him to the chief’s house. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 147 As soon as he came in, he saw a crowd of young people, who met him at the door. They took away all his weapons, and some led him to one side of the chief’s great fire. They made him sit on a grizzly-bear skin which was spread there. Then the chief said to his attendants, “‘ Feed my friend with rich food!” and his attendants pre- pared food and did what the chief had told them. They served him with rich food, and during the meal the young men brought his weapons in. Then the chief ordered his servants to lend him a blanket for the night. Then they all went to bed, and the man slept soundly. Early the next morning a shout was heard outside. ‘Behold! grizzly bears are coming down yonder!’’ Therefore the chief said, “Let the hunters go and kill them for me!’’? The young man made himself ready and started. He went toward the grizzly bear, and took his first quartz arrow and shot it, but his arrow broke. He took another one out of his quiver; and as he tried to shoot, his bow broke. He threw it away, took his spear, and when he attacked the bear the point of the spear broke. Therefore the grizzly bear caught hold of him and killed him right there; and the chief took him into his house, cut him in two, and hung him in the corner with his elder brother. Then the third brother set out to search for his elder brother. He took all his weapons; and when he was a little way off, he saw a large fat porcupine. He clubbed it and hung it on a tree. Then he went a little farther on, and there he saw a fine white she-bear and shot her; and when the bear lay on the grass, the man went on and took up his arrow with which he had shot the she-bear. He went to the top of the mountain, as his two brothers had done before him, and looked down on the other side of the mountain. There he saw the large village on the other side of the mountain. He slid down on his snowshoes, and soon reached the side of the first house. He went around and looked through the knot-hole, and saw a beautiful young woman sitting alone in the house. She saw him and smiled, and invited him to come in. As soon as he was inside, the chief in the next house asked the young woman, “Did any one come to you?” She answered, “‘Yes, somebody came.’ Therefore the chief said, “Send him to me, I will feed him with rich food.’ So the woman sent him to the chief’s house. He went, and crowds of young men met him at the door. They smiled at him and took all his weapons from him, and some led him to one side of the house, where a grizzly- bear skin had been spread out, and they made him sit on it. Then the chief ordered his attendants to feed him with rich food. They did so; and while the meal was being served, the young men who had taken away his weapons brought them back to him. Then the chief said to his servants, ‘Lend him a blanket for tonight.’’ They did so. 148 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 The next morning a shout was heard. Behold! a grizzly bear is coming down the river. Therefore the chief said, ‘‘Let the hunters go and kill it for me!”” Then the young man made himself ready, went across and met the grizzly bear, and shot it with his good arrow, but it broke. He took another one out of his quiver; and when he intended to shoot again, his bow broke. He threw it away and took up his spear; and while he attacked it, his spear broke also. There- fore the grizzly bear came to him and killed him. The chief took him and cut him in two, and hung him up with the two other brothers in the corner of his house. Thus the rest of the brothers set out one at a time. They all met the same dangers, and all their widows were left in the camp. Only the youngest brother now remained. He was crying for the loss of his nine brothers; and when the days of his mourning were over, he prepared to start, but the nine widows did not want to let him go, because their husbands had all been lost: but the young man insisted on going. He wanted to see what had happened to his nine brothers who had been lost, and all the widows were weeping. The young man also wept bitterly, and he said, ‘‘ Why did not one of my brothers go in another direction? They all went in the same direction.”’ And he lifted up his voice and wept bitterly, and all the widows wept with him. Then the young man said to his sisters-in- law, ‘‘I shall come back again, and I shall take you down home when I come back from there.”’ Then he set out, and took all his good, strong weapons. He put on his hunting-garment, and took food with him. When he had gone some distance from the camp, he met a large, fat porcupine; but this young man went another way, thinking that he would not touch the porcupine, and he thought, ‘‘Maybe my nine brothers met it on their way.” After he had gone a little farther, he saw a fine white she-bear feeding on the green grass. He went to her and shot her, and she fell down dead. The young man rolled the bear over, and saw the beautiful white fur on her belly, and he touched it with his hand, and said, ‘‘What makes your belly so big?” Then the she-bear was all of a sudden transformed into a beautiful young woman, and she laughed when the young man touched her with his hand.!. She said, ‘‘ Your brothers did not do what you have done to me, therefore they were all slain by the chief in the grizzly- bear village yonder.” The young man staid with her; and the pretty woman said,’ “You may go down to the grizzly-bear town, and I will tell you 1 Original: Da sa-sit-ya’ksa/mEs-6'la & sEM-ama-p!a’/sEm su-p!a‘sEm han&/°xda, sa-sis’a’xsit a asi at dem da’mitda su-p!a’/sEm y!6/°ta ba’n dEda an’o’/ndit. 2 Original: Ada kla-sila-gam-mi’°lkda su-p!a/sEm y!0/°ta; ada a’lg‘ixga ama-p!a’sEm hana/°xga°. ee BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 149 what to do.” After the woman had said so, she vanished from his sight. Then the young man went to the top of the mountain; and when he reached up there, he looked down on the other side and saw a large town at the foot of the steep mountain. He slid down over the ice, and arrived at the side of the first house at the end of the large town. He went around and looked through a knot-hole, and, behold! the same woman was alone in there. She looked at the. young man and smiled, and beckoned to him, and he staid with her.t She said to him, ‘‘The chief will invite you in, but do not eat much, as your nine brothers have done; and do not allow them to take your weapons away from you, for they always exchanged your brothers’ weapons for dried stalks. Let them not have any of your weapons. Early tomorrow morning the grizzly bear will come down, and the chief will send you to kill it. When you have killed it, the whole village will fight against you, but I will help you. Because your brothers’ weapons were exchanged for stalks of plants, their arrows and their spears broke easily. Now, I shall let you have my two dogs to help you when you are tired.” With this she handed him her two pups, and said, ‘‘Put them in your garment. When you are out of breath, throw the two pups on the ground, and say, ‘Grow up quickly, Red, and fight!’ and then throw down the other one, and say, ‘Grow up quickly, Spots! ” After the woman had finished speaking, the chief in the house next door asked, ‘‘Did any one come to you?” The woman did not answer him at once, as she had done before, because she loved the young man much. The young man embraced her and kissed her many times. After that the chief asked again, ‘‘Did any one come to you?” and the young woman replied quickly, ‘‘Yes, he is coming.” Then the chief said, ‘‘Send him over to my house, that I may feed him on rich, fat food.” Then the man went; and when he came to the door of the chief’s house, a great crowd of young men met him. They acted very kindly toward him, and wanted to take his weapons from him, but he refused to let them have them. They led him to one side of the large house, and a grizzly-bear skin was spread by the side of the large fire. He sat down there, but nobody took his weapons away from him. Then the chief ordered his attendants to prepare food, and they did so; but the young man refused to eat, and said, “‘T just finished my dinner before I came sliding down the mountain, there- fore I am very thankful for your kindness;” but the chief compelled him to eat. Therefore the young man took a little. Late at night 1 Original: Gakstatna’°, da nin!i’s hana’°xda k!utlu-k!4'ldet da di-niest da hmamxt, ada ligi-an’o’nt asga su-pla’/sEm y!0/°tagao da la'igut @ na-wil-na’kga hana’°xt. 150 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 they went to bed and slept. The young man was on the alert, and kept his weapons in readiness. Before he went to sleep, he looked at one corner in the front of the house, and saw his nine brothers hanging there, cut in two, and his heart was filled with sorrow. Therefore he could not sleep soundly at night. Before it was midnight he perceived that some one came to the place where he was lying, trying to steal his weapons; but he held them in his hand, and coughed to let them know that he was not asleep. Many tried in the same way, but before daylight came they were all asleep. When day began to dawn, not a sound was to be heard; and when the sun rose high, a soft voice was heard outside, saying, ‘‘Behold! the grizzly bear is coming down on the other side of the river.” Then the chief said, ‘‘Let the hunter kill it for me!” Then the young man, who had kept ready, set out at once. He crossed the river, went right up to the great grizzly bear, and killed it. Then another grizzly bear came along, and he killed it also. A third one came along, and he killed it. Then two came together, and he killed both of them. Four came together, and he killed them. Then all the grizzly bears pressed the young man hard, but he stood firmly, fighting against them. Finally his quiver was empty. Then he took his spear, and killed them with it, and many grizzly bears covered the ground. Now he was very tired. He had forgotten all about the two pups that he had. When he was almost ready to faint, he remembered the two pups. He took one out, threw it on the ground, and said, ‘‘Grow up quickly, Red!’’ and then he threw down the other one, and said, “Grow up quickly, Spots!” and the two pups became giant dogs. Now, the two large dogs were stronger than the grizzly bears, and killed as many as they could while the hunter was lying on the ground, for he was weary and needed a rest. The two giant dogs killed all the grizzly bears. When the two dogs also were tired out and the young man had recovered his strength, he went to the place where the two giant dogs were, and he petted them, as his sweet- heart had advised him to do when she gave him the two pups. While the young man was petting them, the two dogs became smaller and smaller until they had regained their former size. Then he put them back in the belt of his garment. He went across to the village, while the place where he had been was covered with grizzly bears. The young woman came down and met him on the way. They went to the chief’s house; and when they entered, they saw Chief Grizzly Bear lying dead there. The young woman said, ‘‘Now cut him open and take out his heart, and I shall wave it over the bodies of your nine brothers. Then they shall come back to life.” Thus —— BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS alt spoke the young woman. He did as she had said. He took out the heart and gave it to her. Then she waved it over the body of the eldest one four times. Then the eldest brother came back to life. He rubbed his eyes just as though he were waking from sleep. Then she went to the second one, and the second brother came back to life, as his eldest brother had done before; and so with all the others. When they had all come back to life, the youngest one said, ‘‘ Now go down to our camp an@ bring your wives here.’”’ So the nine men went to their camp, and the wives were very glad to see them come back. On the following day they started for the grizzly-bear village. The youngest brother had married White-Bear Woman, and he divided among his brothers the bears which he had killed. After they had dried the meat and the grizzly-bear skins, they were ready to move, and on the following day they packed all their belongings to go home. They started and went right to their home. When they reached their own home safely, the eldest brother invited all his people, and told them their story—how they had met dangers at the village of the grizzly bear, and how their youngest brother had delivered them from the hands of the cruel animals that had destroyed them, and how this youngest brother had married the beautiful woman who had helped him from the hands of those who had deceived them. Then the youngest brother brought down his beautiful wife to his own house. The young woman always followed him wherever he went, and the young man was successful in everything he did, on account of the help of the Bear Woman. He killed the strongest animals of all kinds, for his two dogs were stronger than any kind of animal. Once upon a time this young man who had married the White- Bear Woman heard of a shaman woman who was killing all the hunters who passed her den. Therefore he set out with his wife to visit her. When they reached the cave in which the supernatural woman lived, she came out and invited them to visit her den; and when they went in, she made them sit on one side of her fire on a broad board. As soon as the young people were seated, they saw a number of dead people hanging on poles in the corners of the house. Then the supernatural woman said, “I shall have your wife for my dinner today, and tomorrow I shall eat you.’ The young man replied, ‘‘T shall have your head, and J shall put it on a long pole. I shall feed your flesh to my two dogs.”” With this he threw his two dogs on the ground, and his wife said, ‘‘Grow up quickly, Red, and you, Spots!”” Then the two dogs shook their bodies and grew up to be large dogs. Then the young man said, “Attack her and bite her neck and eat her flesh!” The two dogs rushed at her so quickly 152 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 that she had no time to call up her own supernatural helpers. They bit her neck, bit off her head, and the two dogs ate her flesh, but her head was still alive. The young man took it and put it on a pole, which he placed upright in the mouth of her den. Then the young woman took her two dogs, petted them, and they became smaller and smaller until they were of the same size as before. They went to their own house, and when they arrived there, the pups were dead. Then the young man died also. The woman took her husband’s body and her two dead dogs?and carried them to her own home. That is the end. 17. Tae HuntTEer AND HIS WoopEN WIFE ! A hunter married a young woman. He loved her very much because the young woman knew how to make dancing-blankets, which were very dear to the people in olden times. Not many days after their marriage the hunter made ready to go up the mountains for fall and winter hunting. One day they started, and he went with his young wife, taking all his woodworker’s tools and his traps and snares. They went on and on until they arrived at his camping-ground, and there they went into the hut. In the autumn the young man first hunted mountain sheep, whose wool the young wife needed for making dancing-garments. Therefore the man killed many. He took off the good wool, and the young woman took all the wool and washed it; and when it was dry enough, she spun it into yarn; and after she had spun it all, she dyed some; and when she was ready, she began to weave; and when one half of her weaving was finished, she became sick while her husband was away. When hecame home, he found his young wife very ill. When she was dying, she called her young husband to her side, and said, ‘“‘My dear husband, keep your love for me after I am dead. Don’t go home too soon! Watch over my grave!” Then she died. The young man was in deep sorrow for her sake. He kept her dead body many days. Now the winter was nearly passed, and he still kept the body until it was decayed. Then he buried it. He carved an image of his wife out of red cedar. This man never touched anything that his wife had made, and so it was with her dancing-garment which she was making when she died.. It was still hanging there where it had been when she was work- ing on it. When he made the image of his late wife, he seated it in front of her unfinished dancing-garment, and he made the fingers move as though they were weaving a dancing-garment. He made it turn when he opened the door, and he pretended that the image could speak. 1 Notes, p. 744. rE Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 133 Then he began to hunt again; and whenever he came home from hunting, he threw down his bear meat and fat outside the house. Then he would speak to his wife-image, ‘‘Come out and look at this!” Then he spoke to himself as though his image-wife were speaking: “Oh, I can not, because my yarn is twisted around my fingers! Therefore I won’t come out.’’ Then he went in and embraced his wooden wife. He talked to his wooden wife, and would say, “‘ You are very handsome.” Now many hunters were passing by. They looked into the house and saw a woman weaving a dancing-garment. Then some one said that the hunter’s wife was made of wood. He told about it in the village. There were two sisters among some young men. One night their mother was angry with them. Therefore they ran away from their mother and crossed the mountains. They crossed the mountains, valleys, and rivers, and one day they arrived at the camp of the wooden wife. They looked in through a knot-hole, and there was a woman seated by the side of a dancing-garment, which she was weaving. They wanted to ask her if she could give them food, so they opened the door, and the woman that was weaving turned her head to look at them. They stood there and asked her to give them a little food, but she did not pay any attention; and the yarn was twisted around her fingers, and she just moved her fingers. There- fore the elder sister said to her younger sister, ‘‘That is not a living being! I will go near and look.” So she went near and touched her shoulder, and said, ‘Will you give us a little food, elder sister?” However, she felt that it was not a human being, but wood. She called her younger sister, and they were surprised. Then they laughed at her, and they remembered what they had heard about the hunter’s wooden wife. They hid in a corner of the house among the dried meat and fat. Soon they heard the hunter come down to his camp He whistled, for he was very tired because his load was heavy. He said to his wooden wife, ‘‘Come out, my dear, and look at this!” Then he said to himself, ‘“‘Not so, my dear, for my yarn is twisted around my fingers.’’ Then he came in, ran to his wooden wife, and’ embraced her and kissed her, and the two young women laughed at himsecretly. The man heard them laughing secretly. Hegotup and looked around, and found the two young women who were hiding among the dried meat. He called them and spread a large grizzly- bear skin on one side of the house. The two young women sat down on the large grizzly-bear skin, and he cooked for them rich meat, tallow, and fat. They ate many things that night, but the younger sister was afraid to eat much. She ate only a little of each kind of 154 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 food. The elder sister ate a great deal. She overate. At midnight they went to bed. The man spread another grizzly-bear skin for their bed, and he gave them fur garments. They slept soundly that night; but the elder sister, who had overeaten, soiled her bed early in the morning. The hunter arose and made a fire. He cooked a meal for the two women, and then called them. The younger one arose, but the elder one was ashamed to get up. The man said, ‘‘ Wake up, my dear, we are waiting with breakfast!” but she cried because she was very much ashamed. Then the hunter made fun of her. He wanted to marry the younger one. She replied, “‘You may marry me if you promise to destroy your wooden wife.” He prom- ised to destroy it, and she asked him to promise not to tell any one what had happened to her elder sister. He also said that he would never do so, and he also said to her, “‘ Don’t tell any one what I have done to the wooden figure!”’ and she promised not to do so. Then they were married. The young woman was better than his former wife. He taught her to weave dancing-garments, and she learned the art quickly, and she made them better than his first wife. The hunter came to be richer than ever. He sent his sister-in-law back to the village; and at the end of the next autumn they moved back to the village. He gave a great feast to all the people, and built a large house, and became a head chief in his generation. His new wife was a wise woman and kind to all the people. That is the end. 18. Pruckine Out Eyes! There was a great town, and many people lived in it. A large lake was behind the town, and a good trail led from the towi! to the lake. The people used to walk up to the lake to enjoy themselyes— young and old, and also children—because there was a good sandy beach all around the lake. The young people would swim there— young men, young women, and children. The town had a very good chief, a very kind man, and the chief- tainess also was kind to all the people. Their son was a nice young man, whom they loved very much, because he was their only son. The mother had many brothers, who also loved her only son. This young man was as gentle as his father and his mother; and the prince had a young man, nice like himself, for his friend. They loved each other like brothers. Often they would sleep in one bed. The young man’s parents were very anxious that he should marry one of his father’s relatives; and all his uncles came and assembled around him, and said that he must marry the girl, as his father wished. However, he refused. He did not want to get married so 1 Notes, pp. 746, 759. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 155 soon. He said he was still too young, but his parents urged him to marry soon. Now we will see what happened to this young man who did not want to marry. It was in the evening, when all the young people went home from playing on the shore of the lake. The young man went up along the trail behind his father’s house. Before he reached the lake he saw a beautiful girl coming down along the trail on which he was walking. She looked at him and smiled, and the young man looked at her and also smiled. He asked her, ‘‘ Where do you come from?” and they were both standing side by side. Then the girl said, “I come from over yonder.” The young man continued, “Which way are you going?”” She said, “I am just taking a little walk farther down, young man.”—‘“‘Shall I go with you ?””—“ Yes, come on!” Thus they walked on the trail side by side, and they began to talk together while they were going along. Then the young man said, “T love you. Now I want to marry you.’”? The girl said, “Tf you will promise me that you will not take any wife beside myself, then you may marry me.”’ The young man promised that he would not marry another woman beside herself, and he married her.2, Then she said, ‘Come and go with me to my house!”’ So they went up the lake. She said, ‘‘Any time you want me, shout four times, and I will come to take you to my house, by day or by night; but let nobody know what you have done, lest you die. Don’t marry another woman!” He promised her again that he would not do it. The girl said again, ‘‘Don’t tell any one!” Then they separated. This was the reason why the young man did not want to marry. Sometimes when lying down in the night, his friend would say to him, “You must do what your parents want you to;” but the prince always said that he was still too young to marry. His friend noticed that the prince would often come in just before daylight and lie down again by his side, and that his body then was quite cold and a little wet. The prince had done so many times, and more than two years had passed this way. One night his friend made up his mind to watch the prince. He pretended to be asleep; and when the prince thought that his friend was asleep, he arose from his bed and went out secretly. Then his friend arose also. He went out, and, behold! the prince was going along the trail behind his father’s house. His friend followed him secretly, and also went along the trail. The prince did not know that his friend was following him. As soon as the prince came to the shore of the great lake, he shouted, and shouted 1 Original: N si/p!Eent, g-a’wun hasa’gaut n dem sil-né’kEn. 2 Original: Nin!i’ gan-sem-g-a’/det a’eskga su-p!a’‘seEm y!0/ota & dem wa-gik-ga’o ligi-hana’ox a na-awa/et; wai ta ga‘odi walt as nli’at & gwi’ot. 156 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 again, while his friend was standing a little farther back in the woods, keeping very quiet. After the prince had shouted four times, behold! a beautiful girl came up from the water. She came ashore to where the young prince was standing, and she took him and dived with him to the bottom of the lake. After his friend had seen this, he went home and lay down again. Just before daylight the prmce came in secretly and lay down again. Night came on again. When the prince was fast asleep, and his friend noticed that he was sleeping, he arose secretly and went up to the lake, stood at the same place where the prince had been standing the night before, and shouted as the prince had done. He shouted four times. Then the beautiful girl came up from the water. She went toward the young man who stood on the shore. She took him and plunged down to the bottom of the lake1 Then he saw a good- looking boy creeping around the house. So the man took the boy and ran away with him; and at midnight, while the prince was still asleep, the friend came in with the boy. He threw him on the prince who was sleeping, and said, ‘‘What makes you so patient with your child?” The prince awoke, and said, ‘‘You have done a great wrong. I am sorry for what you have done.” Then they all-went to sleep again. This child was the son of the prince and of the woman of the lake. Then the child arose and plucked out the eyes of the man who had taken him up. He went around the house and took out the eyes of all the people, and strung them on a line of red-cedar bark. He went all around the village and took out the eyes of all the people. The sister of the prince lived at the end of the village. She had given birth to a child a few days before, and a slave-girl was staying with her, taking care of the newborn child. Before daylight the child of the princess was crying on the lap of the slave-woman. The princess said to her, ‘‘Look after the child!” Still the slave took no notice of what her mistress had said. There- fore the child’s mother took the child from her. She looked at the slave’s face, and, behold! her eye-sockets were empty. She saw the child creeping on the ground at the door, with a long line in his hand, on which the eyes of the people were strung. Now the father of the child which had taken the eyes of the people woke up, and, behold! his friend who had taken the child up from the lake had no eyes. The prince went to the place where his father, the chief, was sleeping, and he saw that his father had no eyes. He went around in his father’s house, and all the people were dead, and their eyes were gone. He went to another house, and there also the people had lost their eyes. He went on from house to house, and 1 Original: Dat sila-na’ktgae. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 157 he found that in every house the people were all dead, their eyes having been plucked out. So he went to his sister; and there he met his child, dragging along the line full of the eyes of the people. The child was dragging the line along the street when he passed him. He went to his sister, who had just given birth to a child, and saw that she was still alive. He told her that their parents were dead, and, further, that all the people in the village were dead. Therefore the young man asked her to leave the village. His sister took up her own child, and they went along the street. Again they met the child who was dragging along the street the line with the eyes. He took up the child, and threw away the line with the eyes of the people. They went together on the trail behind the house of the chief, which led to the lake. The prince shouted four times, and, behold! the beautiful woman came up, and went ashore to the place where the prince was standing. When she came near him, he threw the child at her, and said, ‘‘Why didn’t you take notice to whom you gave your child? This child has killed every- body in my village.” The woman stood there silent, and the prince and the princess were crying. Theyremained there a little longer, and the woman of the lake felt very sad. She spoke kindly to her husband and to her sister-in-law. She said to her husband first, ‘‘Come to me, my dear!’ So the prince went near her, and she gave him gambling- tools. She sent him away to the south, and said to him, ‘‘Go there! You shall be richer than any one you meet.’”’ ‘Then she gave him a set of gambling-sticks.* Then the young prince took them and went southward. He always shook his gambling-sticks, and he always won, and became richer than all his fellow-men, as the woman of the lake had said. She also called her sister-in-law to her, and gave her a garment of wealth. She put around her an ever-new belt, and she put the princess’s own child on her back, and said to her, ‘‘Whoever meets you, or whoever hears your child cry, shall be richer than any one else.”’ She sent her toward the northwest. The child was always erying as she went along. Therefore it is that whoever meets her becomes rich among the people. Now these two people parted. The young man went southward, and the young woman went northward. Then the woman of the lake took up her own child and went down to the bottom of the lake. She wept there, and at the end of her mourning-period she came up with her child on her back. She went ashore and came down to the seashore. There she stood on the beach and went into the salt water. 1 These sticks they use up to this day. They split maple wood and make gambling-sticks, and they make them pretty. Some gambling-sticks are made of bone, some of maple. They are fifty or sixty in number, and each one has a mark and a name.—HENRY W. TATE. 158 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 She plunged to the bottom of the sea, and left her home in the lake, and went way out. She became a being part fish, part woman, and had her new home in the sea. Sometimes the people will see her coming up, and they call her Hak!ula’q. 19. THe SPIDER AND THE Wipow’s DAuGHTER ! There was a famine among the people. There used to be famines because they had no nets to catch salmon, and not many people knew how to make salmon traps and weirs. Therefore dried salmon was not plentiful in winter, and many widows were dying of starva- tion, and also old people and orphans. When a famine set in, the rich people would leave the village and move to some other place, scattering in every direction, without taking pity on the poor. They left them in the empty villages, and diseases swept the poor people away. Starvation and disease destroyed them all. So it happened to one widow, who was left in the village when all the wealthy people had moved away. She went into the woods behind the empty village, where a small brook ran down. There she made a little hut for herself and her daughter, and every day she looked out of her little hut, and saw many salmon jumping at the mouth of the brook. They wished to catch them, but they did not know how to do it. They waited for the salmon to go up the brook, intending to club them. Early every morning the widow came out of her hut and went down to the beach to search for something to eat. Early one morn- ing, on going out, she saw many salmon jumping on the water. She thought her daughter would soon die before the salmon would come up the creek. Therefore she sat down on the bank of the brook, weeping. Her daughter was alone in the hut. She was in bed, and was starving. When the girl opened her eyes, behold! a tall young man was standing at the door of the hut, who said, ‘‘I have come to marry you.” He was a strong-looking young man. The girl was much surprised, and said, ‘‘Wait until mother comes in, and tell her what you want!” but the tall young man said, ‘‘I can not wait for your mother, won’t you take me now?”? The girl agreed, and he married her. He said, ‘‘I will come again tonight.’’ Then he left. Late in the evening her mother came home sorrowful, but she noticed that her daughter looked happy. She did not ask the reason, and pretended not to notice it. ‘At midnight the tall young man entered the hut. The widow did not sleep, and therefore she saw the door open and the tall young man enter. She saw him go in to her daughter, and she wondered what her daughter had done. Still she was afraid to speak. 1 Notes, pp. 747, 750. 2 Original; A’tga n dem di-bEbi’°dEs nan; at n dem gun-ga’°ni? ada n dem sil-na’keEn g:a’wun? BOAS ] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 159 Early the next morning she arose and lighted the fire. The tall young man asked the girl, ‘‘Why are you staying here?” The girl said, ‘‘We are waiting for the salmon to come up the brook, then we intend to club them.” He replied, ‘‘Tell your mother to bring down nettles, as many as she can find.” The girl told her mother, who went quickly to gather nettles. After she had tied them into bundles, she carried them down. The young man spread out the nettles in the hut. Then he sharpened a piece of hard wood and split the nettles. He dried them in the sun; and when they were dry, he peeled off the outer bark. On the fol- lowing day he dried them again. He took three dried ribs of mountain goats, used them as knives to peel off the outer bark until the fiber remained. After the young man had peeled all the nettles, he showed his mother-in-law how to spin and make thread out of them. He spread the fiber on his right thigh with the thumb of his right hand, and he held the nettle fiber in his left hand with three fingers. Then he worked on, pushing the fiber toward his knee, and drawing it again back toward his body. Thus he twisted the fibers into a thread. Now the widow had learned it, and worked all night spinning, day by day, and night by night, until she had used up all the fiber of the nettles. Then the young man made a mesh-stick, four fingers wide, and as long as the palm of the hand, out of hard wood, and he began to net; and in three days he had used up all the thread, and his net was twenty fathoms long and twenty meshes wide. Then he told his mother-in-law to make a good cedar-bark line of three cords, twenty-six fathoms longer than the net; and he took dry red cedar and carved floats out of it.1 When the young man had finished the net, he went out in the night with his wife and began to fish. His net was full of salmon; and when he came home early in the morning, his canoe was full of silver salmon. The widow cut them all while they slept, and before evening her son-in-law and her daughter awoke. After they had taken their evening meal, they made ready to go out fishing again, and they came home early, with their canoe full of silver salmon. He smoked the salmon, and enlarged his mother-in-law’s hut and made it into a large house for smoking salmon, and the large house was full of dried salmon. Then he built another large smoking-house, and it also was soon filled. Then they tied the salmon into bundles. He built a third house, and they stored in it the bundles of dried salmon.? When the large house was full of bundles of dried salmon, and the salmon were hanging in the other two houses, the man said to his wife, ‘‘I am 1 There were no lines at the bottom of the old nets. They had only top lines.—HENRY W. TATE. 2 There were twoscore dried salmon inone bundle. In one bundle of animal skins are only ten.— HENRY W. TATE. 160 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 going away now to my own home. I took pity on you and your mother. Therefore I came to show you how to make nets.” The girl said, ‘‘I will go with you. Let my mother go to her own home.” On the following day the young woman told her mother what her husband had said to her; and the widow felt very sad, yet she had nothing to say. The young man said, ‘‘I will take one bundle of dried salmon for you when you go,” and the young woman was very glad to go with her husband. In autumn, when the leaves were falling, and all the people had assembled in the village, they saw that all their poor relatives had died of starvation. They took the bodies and burned them. The widow returned to the village, and the people thought that her daughter had died because she had been left alone. She did not tell any one that she had plenty of dried salmon. The people, however, tried to find out what had become of her. When winter came, the widow called the young men to help her, and they took down two large canoes and went to the place where her store- houses were. Then the young men went up, and saw the houses full of bundles of dried salmon. They carried them down; and when the two large canoes were full, they went home. They carried the bundles of salmon up to the widow’s brother’s large house. On the following day the two large canoes went again, and both were filled with bundles of dried salmon. Now, the large house was quite full. When all the bundles of dried salmon had been taken to the village, she invited her tribe to give each chief one bundle of dried salmon, and divided one bundle between each man and woman, and her fame spread among all the tribes. They came to buy good dried salmon, and she became very wealthy. The net, however, she did not show to any one. The young man took his wife to his home; and when the young woman sat down on one side of the house, a Mouse Woman came to her, and asked her to cast her woolen ear-ornaments into the fire. After the Mouse Woman had taken the burnt ear-ornaments out of the fire, she said, “Don’t you know who married you?” The woman said, ““No.’’—‘‘It is the Spider. He took pity on you, therefore he went to show you how to make a net. Don’t eat their food, lest you die! If you take your own food, you will remain a human being; but if you eat theirs, you will become a spider.’ Thus said the Mouse Woman, and then she went away. The woman’s husband showed her some more kinds of netting, and the following summer the Spider’s wife went home to her mother’s camp, and she showed her mother what she had learned in the house of the Spider. This is how the people in olden times learned how to make nets. That is the end. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 161 20. Prince Snaiu! There was an old village at the northwest of Xien, and many people were living there. It is the same village as that in which the chief lived who married the Robin Woman.? ‘A great chief lived there who had many people in his tribe. There- fore they were proud and high-handed. He had six sons and one beautiful daughter. His sons were expert hunters. Therefore their father was a wealthy chief. He had many slaves, males and females. Therefore he was proud, and every one honored him and his family. There were many Tsimshian tribes, and each tribe had a chief. Some had one and some had two, and there were many princes in each tribe. Now, when the daughter of this wealthy chief was grown up to be a woman, another chief wanted to marry her, but her parents declined. All the chiefs and princes of the Tsimshian wanted to marry her, but the parents refused them all. They made the bed for the young woman above their own room. Her six brothers, her servant girl, and her parents watched over her day by day. When night came, the chief himself would put a bar across the door, and all his slaves would go to bed. Her parents guarded her day after day and night after night. The young woman used to take a walk behind her father’s house once a day, accompanied by one of her own maids. One day she wanted to take a walk with her to take some fresh air, as she was accustomed to do. Before she went out, she stood at the door and looked to the right and to the left; and when she saw some one on the right or the left, she would go back, until no one was to be seen on the street. She did so every day. One day she went with her maid to take fresh air; and when going back, before they entered her father’s house, she saw a snail creeping along the street. So she kicked the snail out of the way with the tip of her toe, and said to it, ‘““Wouldn’t you like to marry me?” Then she went home.’ Every day she went to bed early, soon after she had taken her walk, and went up the ladder to her bed; and her parents made their bed at the foot of their daughter’s ladder. Two nights had passed since the young princess had kicked the snail out of her way. In the following night, soon after midnight, the young girl felt some one touch her.* So she turned her face toward him, and she saw a fine-looking young man. She put her arms around him, and felt that his skin was as smooth as glass. Therefore 1 Notes, pp. 747, 749. 2 See p. 179. * Original: Ada haut deda hatsar’rElt, “ Amuksat nk’rEni k!ul-wa-di-hau’en gi’dEda k!a’i?”’ 4 Original: Da ta gik hd/op!elt, g’a’wun hi-k!a-da/ot a/otgut, dat g-a/lksa da tgu-wa'lksrga wil na’ka g’a’d da awa/ct. ‘ 50633°—31 ErrH—16——11- 162 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 she loved him very much. Before daylight the young man awoke and went away. The following night the girl went to bed as early as she was accus- tomed to do, and soon all the people in the house of the great chief lay down. Then the young man came again and staid with the girl, and she loved him more and more.' Now, the parents of the young woman did not know what was happening to their princess. The young man went to her four nights in succession; and when the fourth night had passed, the young man said to his beloved, “Shall I take you away from your father’s house into my father’s house, and to his large house? It is not far from here.” She agreed. She forgot her pride and her father’s refusal of her to all the chiefs of the Tsimshian, and the princes’ desire to have her in marriage. She took only a small box and went with this young man, and the young man took her far away from her father’s house. Now they reached the young man’s village. He went with her into a large house. The young woman was a little behind her husband and entered after him. She looked around and saw her husband, who entered and walked right up to a large fire. There he lay down, with his back against the fire; and she saw that a large snail was there in front of the fire, as big as a whale, and another one was on the other side of the fire. These two:large snails were the parents of the young man who had married the young woman. They did not care for the young man’s new wife, and staid with their backs turned toward the fire. Then the young woman was much disappointed. She went to one corner of the large house and sat down without any one speaking to her. She sat there weeping and full of sorrow; and while she was weeping, she felt that some one touched her side and asked her for her woolen ear-ornaments. Then the young woman took off her woolen ear-ornaments, and the Mouse Woman took them. The Mouse Woman asked her, ‘‘ Do you know these people?”” The young woman said, “‘No.’’ Then the Mouse Woman said, ‘‘ You remember one time when you saw a snail on your way home and you kicked it out of the way, and you said to the snail, ‘Don’t you want to marry me?’ That is what you said when you kicked it away with the tip of your toe. Therefore the great chief sent his son to marry you.” After the Mouse Woman had spoken, she went away. Now we will go back to the young woman’s own home on the morning when she left. When no one in the house made a noise, the old woman thought that her young daughter was still asleep. There- fore she ordered every one in the house to keep quiet until her daughter 1 Original:Ada wila di-la’tga txan!ilu-tgu-wé1b da wil di-na’kgEsga wi-sEm’&’g'idga, daal gik goi’/dEksga su-pla’sEm y!6/ota da gik wila né’ka da awa’et, da ta sEmt si/op!Entga hana/oga. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 163 should awake; and all the people of the whole household were quiet until dusk. Then the chieftainess was afraid her daughter might be dead in her bed, therefore she sent up one of her maids to see what had happened, and the young girl went up the ladder. When she reached the top, behold! her bed was empty and her box was gone. Then the six brothers began to search through the village. They searched in every house and on the hills, among the canoes, and the chief was almost in despair. He sent out canoes among all the tribes of the Tsimshian and inquired for the young girl, and all the villagers said that they had not seen her. When they came back with the message telling the chief that they had been to all the villages and found no trace of her, the great proud chief and his wife were sad. The chief cried. Then he ordered his attendants to call all the shamans to find out what had happened to his daughter. Therefore the attendants sent messages to all the tribes of the Tsimshian; and all the shamans from all the villages, male and female, assembled in the house of the great chief. He paid each of them, and they took their charms and began to work and dance around the fire. The last one of the shamans was a woman. She said to the great chief, “‘My dear, be of good cheer! Your beloved daughter is still alive. She is in the house of Chief Snail. The son of Chief Snail married her, but she is disappointed, and your six sons may take her home.” Then she pointed with her finger to the rising sun. The chief rewarded the woman, giving her a boy-slave. Then the great chief said to his six sons, ‘“‘ Now, my dear children, I desire you to purify yourselves, in order to be successful and bring back your only sister;”’ and while he was speaking these words, the tears ran down his cheeks, and the whole family wept with him. Then the young men isolated themselves for purification. When the days of isolation of the eldest brother were ended, he went up the mountains to search for his only sister, but he failed to find her. When the days of purification of the second brother had ended, he went, as his elder brother had done before. He went; and he had not been many days among the hills and mountains, when he also gave up and came home. When the days of purification of the third brother were ended, he went a little farther than his two elder broth- ers had gone. When the days of purification of the fourth brother were ended, he also went, and went still farther than the elder three, but he did not succeed. When the fifth brother’s days were ended, he came almost to the village of the Snails; but he also failed, and came back home without success. Now the days of purification of the youngest brother were ended. He went off, taking with him his woodworking tools, and fat and down and red ocher and tobacco, much good food, and blue paint 164 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 and lime of burnt clamshells, and he took two young men to go with him and carry his provisions. Now he started. They went on and on day after day; and each evening in the camp the young man would burn something good in the fire, and would pray to the supernatural powers to direct him to the place where his only sister lived. He did so night after night. Still he went on, and passed all the mountains, valleys, rivers, and diffi- culties. Then they reached a great plain, and ran as fast as they could toward the rising sun. Finally they arrived at a great valley. They stood at the edge of the valley, and, behold! smoke ascended straight from it down below; but there were bare rocks all around ‘the valley, and there was no way to descend. The youngest brother camped here with his company, and offered his burnt-offermg the same evening. In the night he was thinking of a way to get down into the deep valley. It occurred to him that it must be the town to which his sister had been taken, and therefore he was sleepless that night. Early the next morning he arose. He took up his tools and started. Before he left he ordered his com- panions to continue to offer sacrifices. He cut down a red-cedar tree and shaped it in the form of a flying eagle, for this man was a wood- worker. When he had finished it, he took it down to the camp, and said to his companions, ‘‘I will put on this eagle and try to fly up in the air like a bird, for I want to reach my only sister in the village there.”” So he put on his wooden eagle that he had made. Then he flew up, and not very high above the ground the wings broke, and he fell back to the ground; therefore he broke it up and threw it into the fire. Then he went again and cut down a spruce tree and made it into an eagle. After he had finished, he took it down to the camp. His two companions continued to offer sacrifices. Then the young man put on his eagle carving and flew up; but he did not reach very high when the feathers of the tail broke and he fell down to the ground. He broke it up and threw it into the fire and burned it. On the following day he went and cut down a yellow cedar. He did better than before; he carved an eagle, and took it down to the camp where his two friends were still offering sacrifices. He put on the eagle and flew up. He flew way up into the air; and when he tried to fly down again, the tips of his wings broke, and he fell rapidly down to the ground. He tried all kinds of wood, but failed. Finally he went and sat in the woods and considered what to do. At last he thought that if he should make an eagle from different kinds of light woods, he might succeed. Therefore he made the body out of red cedar; the head, and also the tail, of white pine; the legs and the beak, of yellow cedar; and the claws, of mountain-goat horn. He finished it, and took it down to their camp, where his companions Boas | TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 165 continued to offer sacrifices. He put it on and flew upward, way up into the air. Then he flew down again and up. He did so several times and took a rest. His companions were still offering sacrifices. Now he ordered his two friends to go home as soon as they could. Therefore the two friends started, and left him alone on the brink of the deep valley. Three days after his companions had left him he put on the eagle form that he had made and flew down into the valley. When he reached the bottom, he did not see any one on the streets of the village. He walked down straight toward the large house in the middle of the village and stood by the door. Without looking through the door, he saw his sister sitting in one corner of the large house, and he also saw the large animals lying around the fire asleep. Then the young woman looked toward the door, and saw her brother standing outside. He beckoned to her, and quickly she arose and walked to him. Then the young man put his sister on his back and flew up as quickly as he could. They arrived at the brink of the deep valley, and started home, running as fast as they could. Whenever they were weary, the young man would put on his eagle form and would fly in the direction toward his home. When they reached their home, he said to his father the chief, ‘Now, father, order your people to chop down young hemlock trees and young spruce trees, and let them sharpen them at one end, for they will come topursueus. Let the people be ready tomorrow!” So the great chief ordered his slave to shout outside; and the slave went out and shouted, ‘O people! chop down young hemlock trees and young cedar (?spruce) trees;”’ and every family set out, and brought down many sharp young trees; and the young prince told them, ‘‘ Load yourcanoes!”’ and all the people did as he had told them. After they had done so, they put their wives and children in some canoes and sent them across to Beaver-Tail Island (Douglas Island). As soon as the women had gone, the people saw the Snails coming down, pursuing their daughter- in-law. They ran as fast as they could, and all the trees were falling down before them. They cut them down as a sickle cuts down the grass. They had the scent of the footprints of the young people. They were coming down from the top of Xien Mountain, and slid right down into the water, and went on swimming on the water. Then the chief’s people went to meet them, and fought with them on the water. They speared them with their sharpened hemlock trees and sharpened spruce trees. The large animals swam right along to Beaver-Tail Island over the sea. Then the three large animals were killed there. Their fat floated all over the sea around Beaver-Tail Island, and the wind blew all the fat toward the dry land—the fat of these three large animals—and some of the fat went down to the bot- tom of the sea and became a kind of shellfish whose back is very hard, with a shell like that of an abalone, one shell joined to another all along 166 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pTH. ANN. 31 the back, and the color of the body is like dark crimson!’ It has no feet, but its under side is like that of a snail, and it sticks to the rocks. At low water the natives take them off the rocks for food. Beaver- Tail Island is the place where they are found, and they are about six inches long and four inches wide. Some of the fat of the big animals was driven to the dry land. Therefore small snails cover all the land on the coast, and they creep slowly along the ground in summer-time. This is because their forefathers missed the way when pursuing their daughter-in-law. In the warm days in summer some of the old snails go down to the beach when the tide is very low and stick to the rocks, and there they become a kind of shellfish with a hard shell on the back, which sticks to the rocks. ‘This is the end. 21. THE OrreR WuHo MarRIeED THE PRINCESS? In early times many different things happened to the people who lived on this coast, and there are many stories among them referring to the time since the Deluge, when they lived at the old town of Metlakahtla. There was a great chief who lived in his own village with his own tribe, in the village Q!adi’ in Metlakahtla. He had a beautiful daughter, who refused to marry her cousin. She hated him, although her father was very anxious to let his nephew marry her, for his nephew was to succeed to his place when he should die, but she refused to do so. Tn the fall all the young women went in their canoes up to a brook which ran at the north side of Skeena River, called Kiyaks River, to gather fern roots, which they were going to use in winter.® Before evening they arrived at the camping-ground at the foot of a large spruce tree, which was full of leaves. All the young women went to gather firewood. The princess felt very chilly, for the sky was clear. Her aunt was with her at this: time. They started a large fire, but the princess still felt chilly. They kept piling fuel on the fire; and when night came on and all the stars were in the clear sky, the princess still felt chilly. The fire had almost gone out when a friend of the young prince came to the place where the women were camping. They asked him where he came from, and he replied, ‘‘I came up with my friend the prince.” Therefore the princess’s aunt said to her, ‘‘Don’t speak angrily to your cousin, for he wants to take you home tonight. Go with him!” 1 Evidently a Chiton.—F. B. 2 Notes, pp. 747, 751. 8 After they have been cooking one night, being steamed in the ground, they are very good to eat. They taste almost like cooked turnips.—HENRY W. TATE. ——— Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 167 A little later the young prince came to the women’s camp. He went toward the princess’s seat and sat down by her side. She still _ felt chilly, and the young man asked her, ‘‘ Why do you feel so chilly ?”’ She replied, “‘I am very cold.” The princess was glad to have her cousin come, although she had refused to marry him before. Then the young men went up to cut firewood, and the women heard them knocking down dried trees for firewood, which they carried to the women’s camp. They piled the dried wood on the fire, but still the young princess felt very chilly. One of the friends of the princess said, ‘‘I am sorry that you feel so chilly, I will call for rain.” So he shouted for a heavy rain. He did so twice. He did so four times. Then clouds with points on both sides came out of the west. Rain began to fall, and there was a heavy rainstorm. The river of Kiyaks overflowed that night, and the water reached the camp. They searched for another densely leaved spruce tree, and soon they found one above their old camp-site, better than the first. They moved there the same night. The prince said, ‘‘I will go back home before daylight,’’ and asked the princess, ‘‘ Will you go back with me, my dear cousin?”’ She did not say a word to him; but her aunt said, ‘‘My dear, go with your cousin, lest you get sick, for you still feel chilly.’ Then the girl said, “Yes, I will go home with him.” After midnight the young man said to his companion, ‘‘Let us go back home now!”’ Then the young princess went aboard the canoe, and the friend of the young man made a bed for them in the canoe. “Now lie down there, lest you get wet!” They lay down, and he spread mats of cedar bark over them. They went down the river, and the prince’s friend paddled along. Now the girl felt something moving on the mat. When they arrived on shore, the prince’s friend said, ‘‘We have arrived on the beach.” She arose, and, behold! they had reached a strange country. They went up to a house, and many people were in the large house. Before she went in, she looked back at the canoe. It had become a drift-log. She went in, and her mother-in-law spread a mat by the side of the fire. They sat down there. Then the chief said to his relatives, ‘‘Go and boil some fresh halibut!” Then the Mouse Woman came to her, and said, ‘‘Throw your ear-ornaments into the fire!” The princess did what the Mouse Woman asked. Then the Mouse Woman asked the princess, ‘‘Do you know these people?” She replied, ‘‘No.’’ Then the Mouse Woman said, “‘This is the Otter prince, who has married you because you refused to marry your cousin. Therefore his father has sent his son to take you. Now do not eat any of the food that they give you first, but the second 168 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 kind of food that they offer you you may eat, for it is fit for you.” She did as the Mouse Woman had told her. She staid there quite a long while. After a while the young woman was with child; and before the time had come to give birth to the child, the Mouse Woman came to her again, and said to her, “When you feel that you are about to give birth to the child, tell your mother-in-law!” and when the young woman felt that the time had come, she told her mother-in-law. Then her mother-in-law said, “Cast this woman out! Turn her out!’ She put both her hands in front of her eyes, and the princess’s husband threw her out of the house. The young woman crept to the foot of a tree on the island; and while she was sitting there, a little Otter was born. After a while the Mouse Woman came to her, and said, ‘‘I shall bring you a fire.” She went and brought her a fire. Then the woman started a fire. She gathered bark that had fallen from a tree. After three days had passed she felt better. She took the little Otter and threw him into the water. Then the little Otter swam ashore and crept to his mother. She took him again and threw him into the water, and the little Otter swam ashore again. She took him once more and threw him into the water. Again he swam ashore. Then she took compassion on the little Otter. She took him back and wrapped him in part of her marten garment, and she cried bitterly. She staid there a while; and when she felt better, she gathered firewood. When the little Otter had grown up, he came one day to his mother, and asked, “‘Shall I bring you something to eat?” The mother agreed, and so the following morning the Otter went out. He brought two little bullheads to her. She cried again, and said to her Otter child, ‘When you bring me things to eat, bring me some crabs.” Early the following morning the little Otter went out again to get food, caught a large crab, and gave it to his mother. She cooked it on the fire and ate it. Every morning the little Otter went for his mother to get food, and brought all kinds of fish—halibut, devilfish, red cod, and other kinds. 4 One morning the Mouse Woman came to her and pointed out to her that way off on the other side of the island her father’s tribe was not far away from her. The Mouse Woman continued, ‘‘ You must kill all these people who cast you out of the house. Close the three holes on the sides of the great otter den, and leave the main hole open; and after you have closed the three holes, take as many yellow- cedar leaves as you can find, bullrushes, and fragrant leaves, put them in front of the main entrance, and burn them, so that the 1 Original: Da naga lu-t!a’det a ts!em-gwi'et. Ada txanli g-amk n-sE-nlai‘duksa hana’gat, txanli lu-w@lt ligi-wa lt ksE/rEsdEt a g“ili“elget a walb. Ada sEm-n-liba’set a gwai n-sE-nlai’duksa hana‘gat. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 169 smoke will enter the den. Then make two or three clubs, and as soon as you see the otters come out of the den, club them. I will help you.” On the following day the young woman did as the Mouse Woman had told her. She took stones and logs and put them against the three holes on the sides of the den. On the following day she said to her Otter child, ‘““My dear, I wish you to go early in the morning to get food for me.” So very early in the morning the Otter went. Then she began her work, and set fire to the leaves, so that the smoke entered the den. Then her husband came out first, and the Mouse Woman said to her, “This is your husband.’ She clubbed him. Then all the Otters came out of the den, and she clubbed them. But the Otter chief and his wife did not come out, and many died in the den. At last these two large Otters came out, and she clubbed both of them. As soon as she had killed all of them, the little Otter came home, and asked her, ‘‘What is that smoke?’’ The mother told him that it was the smoke of her little fire. He replied, ‘‘No, it is not so. I have seen all the Otters killed on the beach.’ Therefore the mother said, “Yes, I killed them all because they cast me out before I gave birth to you. Only one good old woman took pity on me and gave me a fire. Therefore I am still alive, and you, too, for without her we both of us should have died.” Then the little Otter was very unhappy. Now, I will go back to the women who were camping at Kiyaks River. The princess’s aunt was greatly troubled after the princess had gone. In the morning she said to her companions, “Let us go home today instead of digging fern roots!’’ So they started for home in the evening. They arrived at home, and asked if the princess had come home safe the preceding night. The people replied that the chief's nephew had been at home the whole day. Then the woman told the people what had happened to them in camp—how the prince with his friend had come up and taken the princess home with them before daylight. Therefore the great chief was full of sorrow, for he had lost his young daughter. He called all the shamans from all the villages of the Tsimshian; and after they had finished their dancing, they said that the princess was in the otter den on an island away out at sea. Therefore the chief knew that he had no power to take her back, and he wept for her sake with his wife. One day the little Otter said to his mother, “Shall I go and visit my grandfather?’’ His mother described to him where his grand- father’s house was. She directed him to the second village in the entrance to Metlakahtla Channel. She continued, “But don’t go there, lest you die on the sea, and then there will be nobody to take 170 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pTH. ANN. 31 care of me!” The little Otter, however, said that he would be back safe. Karly one morning he went; and in the afternoon he came back to his mother, and told her that he had looked in and seen his grandfather in a large house. Then he said to his mother, “T will carry you across the sea.’’ This made his mother very sad. After three days the little Otter said to his mother, ‘Early tomorrow morning I will carry you across to the mainland!” and she said, “‘No, my dear child, we shall both die on the sea;”’ but the little Otter said, “No, I shall take you over there.’’ Early the following morning he went down to the beach, and said to his mother, “Take some gravel!’’? His mother did so. Then the little Otter said, ‘‘Come, mother, and sit down on my back!’’ His mother cried as she sat down on his back, and the little thmg swam across the sea; and when he was tired, he would float on the water; and after he had taken strength, he would go on swimming. When he came near the shore, he said to his mother, ‘‘Drop some of the gravel that you are carrying!’’ She dropped it, and it became a sandbar, on which they rested. His mother refreshed herself on the sandbar. Then the little Otter started again, and swam some distance, until he was weary again, because he had been swimming along way. He said again, ‘‘Drop some more gravel here!”’ She did so, and there was another sandbar, on which they rested a while. The little Otter said again, ‘“‘Give me some of the gravel!”’ She gave it all to him, and he said, ‘Now follow me! I will make a sand bridge from this island to the mainland.’”’ She walked behind her son the Otter, and they both walked over the sandbar. There- fore there are now sandbars a little outside of the entrance to Met- lakahtla Channel. Late in the evening they arrived on the mainland when it was low water. Again he carried his mother on his back and took her to his grandfather’s house. It was low water, and many women and young men were out digging clams and cockles. They arrived at a little place called K-dani. His mother said, ‘‘ Don’t go near them lest they kill you!” but he did not care for what his mother said, and went to some of the women. They saw him coming, and shouted, ‘‘See the little Otter!” They ran after him to club him; but he ran away from them, came to his mother, and she took him in her arms and went into her father’s large house. Her father had always been thinking of her ever since he had Jost her. He was sitting by the fire with his back toward the fire. Then she came in and walked along the highest platform in the house. Her father saw her go into her own old bedroom. Then the chief said to his wife, who was seated by his side, in a whisper, ‘I see some one who looks like my own daughter going into her old bedroom. Go and see if it is true!”” So the chief’s wife went into the bedroom BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS ivAal of her daughter who had been lost a year ago, and she saw her daughter there. Therefore the chieftainess cried; but her daughter said, “It is I, mother! Don’t cry, and let the people hear you!”’ All the people assembled that night, and she told her story; and she also said that her child had. brought her across; and she showed them her child, the little Otter. On. the following morning the little Otter went out and brought a large halibut, which he put down on the beach. Then he came in and told his mother that he had brought a halibut for his grand- father. The princess said to her father, ““Send some slaves down to the beach, for my child placed a large halibut there for you.”’ There- fore the chief sent down his slaves. They went, and brought a large halibut. The chief was very glad, and he loved his grandchild, because he had brought his daughter back. The following day the little Otter brought two halibut to his grandfather. So the chief invited the men of his own tribe, and told them not to hurt his grandchild the little Otter if they should see him outside the village, and his tribesmen obeyed. Now, the little Otter brought more fish and other animals every day, and the chief gave a great feast to all the Tsimshian tribes. Only one tribe was not present at the feast. And he spoke to all his fellow-chiefs and all the tribes, and told them that they should not hurt his grandchild when they saw him on the water; and he showed them the little Otter, saying, ‘‘This is my grandchild, who brought the food which I served to you, my guests.’’ All the chiefs were very glad because they had eaten fresh fish—halibut, seal, sea lion, whales, and so on; and the Otter would bring all these animals and all kinds of fish. Therefore his grandfather the chief was very rich in goods and pro- visions, for everybody came to buy food from him during the famine of winter. It was in the same winter, before the people went up to Nass River for fishing. Early one morning the Otter went around the island where the seals were lying on the rocks; and after he came back, having slain the seals on the rock, he killed one great seal on his way back home; and while the Otter took this large seal in his mouth, four hunters in a canoe came along, and they hit the Otter who had the great seal in hismouth. The bowman shot him and took the large seal from his mouth and threw away the little Otter. When the Otter did not come back for two days, his grandfather missed him. Then he sent a canoe with young men to inquire in every village if they had seen Prince Otter; but the people said, ‘‘No.”’ At last they came to the village of one chief, the one whom they had not invited when the grandfather of Prince Otter had invited all the tribes and chiefs to his great feast. They inquired there, and the men of the tribe said that three days ago they had killed an otter which 172 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 held a large seal in its mouth; and these men in the canoe said that that Otter was their prince, the son of a great princess, and the people in the village told them that they had not known about it.’ After they had found out who had killed Prince Otter, they went home and told the chief. The mother of Prince Otter fainted on account of her deep sorrow, for she had lost her beloved one who carried her across the sea and saved her. So the princess died of sorrow. And the other chief came to the grandfather of Prince Otter with his people and many costly things—costly coppers, slaves, canoes, elk skins, and so on—to atone for Prince Otter, whom they had killed a few days before; and the grandfather of Prince Otter was full of deep sorrow because his daughter had died. This is the reason why the people were afraid to leave girls alone in the woods, because the bad Otter might deceive them. 22. THe Wipow AND HER DAUGHTER? There was a poor widow in a Tsimshian tribe who had a young daughter. All the people moved from the old village of Metlakahtla, going to Nass River for the fishing-season. Then a strong wind blew against the canoes. They could not go ahead on account of the north wind, which blew against them. They camped often, and this widow and her young daughter could not go on at all. They were left way behind the canoes, but they were still going on; and after all the canoes had left her behind, she camped at the foot of a high rock on a camping-ground. While they were in camp there, there was a severe storm during the night. They built a hut to shelter themselves during the stormy nights and days. The first night when they were in camp the widow slept on one side of the-fire, and her daughter lay down on the other side of the fire. At midnight some one came in to the place where the young woman was, and touched her, and said, ‘‘Shall I marry you?” and the young woman agreed;* and when the man came to her, she felt that some- thing stung her body. Before daylight he went out again. The storm increased day by day, and the man came every night, and the young woman felt something like nettles stinging her body. Every morning they found a partridge at her mother’s door, and there was always sufficient fuel for them. One night when he came to her, he said, ‘‘We shall have a son, and he shall be a great hunter. There shall be no one like him, neither before nor hereafter, and I shall always be with him.” 1 This is the reason why the people made great feasts when a chief’s child was born and received a name to let everybody know about it—HENRy W. TATE. 2 Notes, pp. 747, 750. 4 Original: “Dem nf’konut a awa’nt dzm g‘a’/wun?’’ Ada gi/ensga su-pla’/sem hana’ga as nli/atga a neE-sté’kst, ada hi-né’ka su-p!a’sEm y!0’eta a awa’°t. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 173 On the following morning it was perfectly calm. The widow went on to Nass River, and arrived there the same day when the fish arrived; and after the people had done their work of fishing, they moved back to the old village of Metlakahtla. After they had been there a while, they moved to Skeena River for salmon fishing. The widow always had good success with the salmon and the berries she dried; and in the fall they moved down to the old town for the winter season. Now, when the time came, the young woman gave birth to a boy, a good-looking boy; and when the child was growing up, she went into ‘the woods to get more fuel. There she met a young man, who said to her, ‘‘I came to visit you and my son. How is he ?””—‘‘Oh, he is a strong and fine boy.”’ He said again, ‘‘When he comes to be a youth, do not give him too much to eat, but give him often devil’s-club,' and let him chew some of the inner bark of devil’s-club, and let him blow this in his hands, and let him rub it over his body after washing, and do not pass the place where I came to you first. I shall be with him, and he shall be a successful hunter in the future, and I will show him how to set traps and how to snare animals. Do not let him marry soon, when he is too young. Keep him unmarried.”’? After he had said so, he went away. Then the young woman went back home, carrying dry wood for the fire. Now, the child grew up rapidly and became a skillful hunter. One time he went to the mouth of Nass River with four of his friends, and they camped at the same place where his mother had camped on her way to Nass River when the young man had come to her on that stormy night. While his companions lighted a fire, this young man went into the woods; and when he went into the thick forest, he saw a man coming down in front of him, who said, “‘Are you my son?” The young man was surprised at the words of the stranger. He stood there without speaking. The man who met him said again, ‘‘T am your father. I have come down to talk to you.” The young man replied, ‘‘Then speak, father!”—‘‘I will teach you how to obtain valuable animals by trapping them without shooting them,” and he made a little trap. He showed him how to make it, and also how to make snares and how to bait wooden traps and skin snares; and he told him how many days he would have to observe taboos, and how many days he would have to fast and to wash. He continued, ‘‘And you shall eat the bark of devil’s-club; and in the night, after you have counted four days, you shall wash on the bank of a brook and dive in the brook. You shall not wash your body for twelve months; then you shall dive in the stream twelve times, and every time after 1 Devil’s-club ( Fatsia horrida), one of the most powerful “medicines” of the Tsimshian.—_F. B. 2 Original: Ada gila’ m dze dilt m dzE na’ksent; a dzkE asi gal-su-p!a’ost dze gukgulam drm wa-dzagem gi’d a hana/ogat. 174 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pri ANN, 31 doing so you shall go in to a woman. Then you shall get everything you want; but do not get married as long as you want to get riches, lest she be not true to you and you have bad luck. Do not marry soon, lest she be unfaithful! Count your days in months and years, and you shall be blessed; but if you nS for woman’s beauty, you shall be poor. Iwill meet you once more.” Thus spoke his supernatural father, and then he vanished from his sight. He did not see him any more.' The young man went back to his companions’ camp. On the fol- lowing morning they went hunting, and he killed a great many ani- mals. He did all that his supernatural father had told him, and all the animals of the woods heard that the young man was a very good hunter, and he was very successful. He made traps and snares for foxes and martens, and traps for grizzly bears and black bears, and so on; and every time he went out to look at his traps and snares, each trap and each snare had caught an animal, and he became richer than any one else. Now another year came.? Then the time of observing the taboos was ended, and he went up to set his traps and snares, and he made some more; and after he had finished he went home. After four days he went out again to see if anything had been caught, but there was nothing. All his traps had fallen and his snares had been broken. The bait had been eaten out of the traps by the mice. He repaired them all and renewed the bait. He spent two days working, and then he finished and went home very sad. After four days he went up again, and he found nothing. All the traps and snares had been broken and the bait was gone. He repaired them and renewed his bait. He worked hard and went home full of disappointment. Early the next morning he went into the woods, looking for devil’s-club, but he did not find any. Late in the evening he came back home; and after he had washed his body, he went up a little hill, and, behold! there was a large tree. He went toward it; and before he reached the foot of the large tree, a supernatural being came around to meet him. When he saw him, he said, “Is that you, my son? Tomorrow you shall cut down this large tree, which 1 Full version of this paragraph: “Ada dem gani m wula ga’ba wamst na-ksi’wut. Ada dzE talu-héi’g- iga na-sa ont wadi-txas-a’°tk, da dem la’xsEnt a q!ala-ts!Bm-hi’ts!Egat. Ada dem am-lu-ma'ksgun a sga-bi’ odgt. Ami dzE wa-la’xsEn a txamé’n, Am dzeE da gi’p!elt g-a’mgun, da dem lu-ma!ksgunt a ts!Em-a’ksEt a kpicl da ga’p!El dEm want. Ade m dem txal-ga’ hana’gat a sga- bia‘dEet. Ks- -ga’ga dem lu-ma’ksgun dam dem g” fa txal-ga’ hana’gat, dzE ta wul’am-ya’en a tslem-a /ksEt. Kpiel da ga’plel dem lu-ma’ksgun a ts!Em-a’ksEt. Ada kpiel dao d’p!El mdEm txal-ga’ hana’gat a txas-a’ tk. Adatigitepta’ba txanli-g4’ dem ha/esagan. Ylagai gila’ dzE na’ksEn a sga-na’k “dzE ha’os: agan a dz§ ama-wa/en, op dzet la-wila gut, ada dze al la-hé’tgun. Gil’ dzE ditt na’ksEn, Dem li’tsxEn sa’ rotga, g'a’mget, ligi-kla’t. Ada dem gap-seEm-wi-bebu’ent. Yilagait ami’ dzE a lu-dza’gem gi’odEen a hana’gat ama-pla’sEt, da drm gap-ga-gwa/ent; gimga(?) K!n’/rel n dem gik txal-wa/on.’”’? Gwai hau’sga negwa/dem nexndé’xt, da sa-dzi’opt. A’tgEt ni’st. 2 The season for hunting Is in the fall; and the spring of the year was also a hunting-season, when the fur of the animals is very thick.—HENRY W. TATE. i ee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 175 will last you throughout your lifetime.’ After he had said this, he disappeared. The young man went home, and early the next morning he went and found the large tree. He went toward it, and, behold! there was a devil’s-club tree larger than any other tree in the whole world. He took his stone ax and felled the great devil’s-club tree; and after it was down, he took all the sap and bark; and when he had collected it, he carried it down to his town and piled up the bark in his little hut behind his house. Then he started to wash his body with the bark of the devil’s-club and its sap, and he ate some to purify him- self. He did so for forty days, and at the end of forty days he went hunting again. He repaired all his traps and snares. He went along for four days repairing his traps and snares; and on his way back from repairing his traps and snares, behold! a great Wolverene had thrown the traps and snares out of their places. Therefore the son of the Devil’s-Club Tree pursued him, and the Wolverene ran as fast as he could; but the son of the Devil’s-Club Tree ran faster; and when the great Wolverene was exhausted, he climbed a large tree, and the man who pursued him stood at the foot of the large tree on which the great Wolverene was sitting. The young man was about to shoot him, when he asked the Wolverene, “ Did you break my traps and my snares? If you don’t answer me now, I shall shoot you!”’ The great Wolverene remained silent. The young man asked again, ‘Did you destroy all my traps and snares which I repaired so often?” Then the Wolverene began to cry. The young man said, “‘ Answer me, or I shall shoot you! It is no use crying.” Therefore the Wol- verene had to say, ‘‘ Yes, I did break your traps and snares.’’ Then the young man said, ‘“‘ Will you give to me as many animals as I have lost through you?”’ Wolverene did not want to answer the question. He was still crying. ‘Tell me how you became so great and suc- cessful in hunting! If you tell me, then I will let you go; if not, then I shall kill you.”’ Then the Wolverene said, ‘TI shall tell you, and you must let me go.” Wolverene said, ‘‘I use devil’s-club bark in my bath every morning, and I eat some.” The young man stood there; and when the Wolverene had spoken, he ran down from the tree laughing. So the young man pursued him; and when Wolverene was tired and weary, he climbed another tree; and the young man who pursued him came to the foot of the tree and asked him, and said, “‘ Tell me what makes you so successful! Tell me quickly, or I shall shoot you!”” Then the Wolverene said, “You shall eat the roots of the floating plants with their leaves.” Again the Wolverene ran down from the tree laughing, and the young man pursued him. 176 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 Soon the Wolverene was tired out, and climbed another tree. The young man stood at the foot of it, and said, “If you don’t tell me the truth this time, I shall shoot youright off!” Therefore the Wolverene was very much troubled, and said, “I shall let you know my secret. You must eat a small piece of blue hellebore root; and when you bathe in the morning, use the hellebore roots to rub your body with. Then you will be successful.” But the young man did not believe what the Wolverene told him, and said, ‘I don’t believe what you tell me now. ‘Tell me the truth, or I shall kill you right away!” Then the Wolverene said, “‘You must take skunk-cabbage roots and eat a little of them, and use some when you bathe, and rub them over your body, as you did with the hellebore roots.” The young man had not much confidence, but he let him go once more. As soon as Wolverene had run a little distance, he began to laugh again. Now, the young man pursued him again. He ran faster than the Wolverene, so the Wolverene ran up a tree, and the young man spanned his bow and had his arrow ready in his hand. He pointed the arrow at the Wolverene without saying a word to him. Now, he said, ‘‘I shall shoot you right now.” But the Wolverene said, ‘‘ Wait, I shall tell you!” but the young man would not listen. He said, “T shal] not wait any longer, because you have made fun of me three times.” Then the great Wolverene said, ‘‘You shall have my secret now. It is the rotten fern (or gidlu°gan ?).’”’ Then the Wolver- ene began to cry, ‘‘ Rotten fern!” and he went his way crying until his voice was lost. Now, the young man went and repaired his traps and snares, and he made many new traps and snares, and he went and searched for some rotten fern (or giadlu°gan?). He found some and ate some; and he used some while bathing in the morning, as the Wolverene had told him; and he came to be a great hunter, more successful than he had been before; and when he went to see his traps and his snares, behold! every one had caught a marten or mink or weasel, and many other good animals. He did so the whole year round, and in the spring he built bear traps, and snares for grizzly bears, and traps for wolverenes and wolves and all other kinds of animals, and he became richer and richer. Many princesses wanted to marry him, and many times he gave a great feast to the people because he was very rich. He remained an expert hunter. Finally he married one of his uncle’s younger daughters, and after many days his wife had a little son. When the boy grew up, he heard the people say outside, ‘‘ There is a white she-bear coming down on the ice of the Skeena River!” and the son of Devil’s-Club Tree took his spear and ran down. He saw the white she-bear coming down the river on the ice; but ‘before he was able to throw his spear, poas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS meted the white she-bear kicked the ice, and the man was drowned. The white she-bear was almost drowned too, but she succeeded in reach- ing the bank. The man went under the ice and died there. 23. Toe Mink Wuo Marriep A Princess! In olden times many animals married women, and so it was with this young woman. Her parents did not want any one to marry her. Although all the princes wanted to have her, they would not agree. One night they went to bed, and some one came to the place where the princess was sleeping. He woke her, and said, “‘May I stay with you tonight?” She said, ‘“‘Yes.” And so the young man remained with her. Before daybreak the young man said, ‘‘Shall I take you to my house?” and the young woman said, ‘‘ Yes, of course!’ There- fore he took her in his canoe, and they left her home, Metlakahtla. He said to his wife, ‘‘Lie down in the canoe!” and the young woman did what her husband said. He paddled the whole night. Then he came in front of his house. He said, ‘‘ Now, my dear wife, wake up and go into my house!” So the young woman arose, and she went with him into a mink’s den. Now, the young woman’s heart was sorry on account of what she had done, for she knew now that her husband was a Mink. She was always crying. Every morning the Mink went fishing and brought many eels, which he caught under the small rocks. He strung the eels on cedar twigs, and carried them up to his den, where his wife was. She would not eat anything, but just chewed fat. Every morning, very early, the Mink went and brought home one or two strings of eels. He dried them in the smoke; and every time he came home he counted his dried eels. He brought fresh ones, and hung them also in the smoke to dry. When the young woman saw that her husband always counted his dried eels, one morning while her husband was away, she took the eels down and hid them; and as soon as the Mink came home with another string of eels, he looked for his dried eels, and they were all gone. He scratched his head, and said, ‘‘I don’t know what has become of all my dried eels. Maybe I ate them, I don’t know! Oh, no! for my stomach is not full.’”’ He was afraid to ask his wife, for fear of making her angry. Therefore he said to himself, ‘‘ Perhaps I ate them all! Oh, no! my stomach is not full.” Then the young woman began to laugh, and he said, ‘“‘Oh, how foolish these human beings are! What will they have to eat during the cold winter, when the snow is on one side of the trees! How foolish they are!” The young woman was laughing about the words that her husband spoke to himself. ‘‘Oh, yes!”’ said he, “‘maybe I ate them all, ate, ate, ate! Oh, no! for my little stomach is not full. How foolish people 1 Notes, pp. 747, 762. 50633°—31 ErTH—16——12 178 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 are! What will they eat in the cold winter, when the snow is on one side of the trees!’’ Then the young woman laughed aloud, and said, “Oh, you funny fellow! I hid your dried eels in the corner. Go there and get them!” Mink went and got them and hung them in the smoke. He was glad, and said to his dear wife, ‘‘My dear wife, I am sorry to trouble you about the dried eels, but I did not mean you, I just talked to myself.”’ Now, the time came when the people moved to Nass River to fish for olachen. One day the sun shone, and the young woman said, “Let us take a walk and sit on the point yonder! There we shall see the canoes passing by.” They went there, and sat down behind a log. The canoes passed by the place where they were sitting. Mink saw some people wearing white bone ornaments in their ears and in their noses.t Mink saw that it looked very well, and he said, ‘‘My dear wife, what are these white things in the ears of your people ?””—‘‘ They are bones.’’—‘‘ But why do they do it?” She replied, ‘‘Because they want to show that they are of my rank.” Mink said, ‘‘Can you do the same to me ?””—‘‘Oh, yes! I will if you want me to.”’ Mink said, “How do they make the holes in the ears?’’—‘‘ You must sharpen a hard spruce branch, and then I will do it for you.” —‘‘ Yes, my dear wife, I want it very much. You must do it with a sharp branch tomorrow.” On the following morning Mink went and got a spruce branch. He took it home and sharpened it. The young woman said, ‘‘Sharpen both ends.”” Mink did as his wife told him; and when he had done so, he gave the branch to his wife. The young woman said, “Are you ready now?”’—‘‘Yes, I am ready,” said he. Then the young woman took the sharpened branch, and asked, ‘‘ Where is your stone hammer?” Mink gave it to her. ‘‘ Now lie down on the ground, and I will drive this sharp branch through your ears.”” Mink lay down on the ground, and said, ‘‘My dear wife, I am afraid I shall die.” — “Oh, no!” said the young woman, ‘“‘you will not die. The people shall know that you are of my rank. It will not hurt you, but my father’s people will like you.”” Therefore he lay down on the ground. The young woman took the spruce branch in one hand, and the stone hammer in the other. She said, ‘‘Close your eyes!’’—‘‘ No,” said he, “Tmafraid, I’m afraid!” saidhe. Thenthe woman said, ‘‘ThenI shall leave you and go home to my father.” Now, Mink lay down on the ground, his one ear up, and the other down on the ground. ‘‘Close your eyes!” said the woman. He closed his eyes, and the young woman took the sharp branch and drove it into his ear and fastened it to the ground. Mink died there, and the young woman went back to her father’s house. 1It was the custom to wear bones in holes made through the ears and the nose.—HENRY W. TATE. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 179 24. THe Curer wHo Marriep THE ROBIN AND THE SAWBILL Duck ! In olden times, long ago, the people of this coast used to marry animals, birds, frogs, snails, mice, and so on. So it happened with one great chief. His village was at the northwest side of Nien Island, and his tribe consisted of many people. He had no wife.. His people assembled several times, and tried to find a woman to be his wife. Then the chief said to them, “If you bring me a woman of the Robin tribe, I will marry her; and if you will bring me a woman of the Sawbill Ducks, I will marry her.” Then the people of his tribe had a great meeting to talk over these matters. Some of his wise men took counsel, and chose hunters to search for the two women whom the chief wanted to marry. There- fore the hunters fasted; and after their fasting, some went up the mountains, and others went out to sea. Those who went up the mountains reached a large plain, where they saw a large village, and they went toward it. When they came near, they saw young people walking up and down on the street. They seemed very happy, and they were good to look at. They were young men and young women. When they saw the hunters coming to their village, some young men ran in and told the people and also their chief, who invited the strangers into hishouse. Theyspread mats at the side of the.chief’s large fire, and immediately they sat down. Then some one touched the side of one of the hunters. It was the Mouse Woman. She said, ‘‘Do you know whose village this is?” He said, ‘““No.”” Then the Mouse Woman said, “This is the village of Robin, and this is the house of their chief. He has a beautiful daughter, whom her father will let you have to be your chief’s wife if you promise him to take good care of her.” After Mouse Woman had spoken, she went away. Now, the chief said to his attendants, ‘‘Get ready for these men who have come to visit us. Prepare good food for them.” Then his men roasted a good dried spring salmon, put it into a dish, and placed it before the hunters, who ate of it. After that they gave them fat meat of mountain goats and all kinds of fresh berries. Late in the evening, after they had eaten, the head men of the hunters said to the chief, ““Youare a great chief, and we are glad to see the riches in your great house. We have come from very far to visit you; for we have heard of the fame of your wealth, which we see now, and part of which we have tasted. Our poor chief has sent us to you, for he wants to have your daughter to marry her. We will honor her, and she shall be the greatest chieftainess in our village and among all the Tsimshian tribes. We shall do all we can for her.” 1 This story resembles in style the Kwakiutl stories (see p. 106).—Notes, p. 759.—F. B. 180 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 After he had spoken, the chief of Robin’s attendants spoke: “Tndeed, chief, my chief heard what you said to him. Tomorrow he will invite his tribe, and will tell his people what you ask for, and the day after tomorrow they will decide.’”’ Two days passed, and then the people of the village assembled. Their chief said to the visitors, “Friends, I am glad that you have come here, and that you want to take my daughter to be your chief’s wife. My wise men and all my pecple have decided that you shall take her to your chief. I understand that you promise to take good care of her, which I hope you will do. I wish that my daughter and the young chief might come to visit me in the winter to get provisions. At present I send her with you empty-handed. That is what my people desire and what they have decided in this matter. At present I just give her two small root baskets—one filled with fresh meat and fat, and the other filled with various kinds of fresh berries.” The hunters started homeward. They did not know the way, but the young Robin Woman led them. They walked down, and passed many mountains and many valleys and rivers. They traveled on many days; and they reached home late in the fall, bringing with them a beautiful young woman. The young chief was very glad to see the beautiful young woman. The hunters gave the girl to him to be his wife. So the chief received her. He loved her very much. ; : The head man of the hunters opened one of the small root baskets and took out the fresh meat and fat. He put it on the mats which were spread in front of the chief and his new wife, and the meat and fat filled one end of the house. Then the head hunter took the other root basket and took out the various ripe berries, which he put into a cedar box. When the chief saw these things, he was very glad, and invited his whole tribe in. After the people had eaten, they said to their chief, ‘‘O chief! you ought to invite in all the tribes to show them your new wife, and they shall be happy with you.” The chief consented, and sent his messengers to all the different tribes around his village, asking the chiefs of the different tribes to assemble in his village two days later to take part in the wedding feast. All the chiefs had a very happy time, at the end of which they went to their own homes in their canoes, which were loaded with meat and fat and all kinds of berries. They were all talking about the young princess who was now the wife of the young chief. Now we will turn to the other woman, the Sawbill-Duck Woman. I said before that some hunters went in their canoes; and as they went along the seashore, when they came around the point, they saw a young woman walking along the sandy beach. Her braided hair Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 181 was hanging down her back, and was ornamented with beautiful white shells. The head man of the hunters wanted to go and take her for their chief to be his wife. So they went ashore. The head man went toward her and sat down with her on the beach. The man told her that his chief wanted her to marry him. Then the Sawbill-Duck Woman consented. He took her to the canoe, and they went home, where they arrived a few days before the other hunters came. The chief was still waiting until the others came home. He waited for a long while, and finally those who had taken Princess Robin came home. Then the young chief loved the Robin Woman more, for she was more beautiful than the Sawbill-Duck Woman. After the chief had given his great feast, he kept the two women as his wives, but he loved the Princess Robin most. Now, winter-time came, and food began to be scarce. Then the young Robin Woman remembered her father’s words which he had spoken to the hunters when they took her away. One night she said to her husband, ‘‘My dear, I remember my father’s words which he said before your messengers took me from his house. He said that he wanted you to send two large canoes to him in midwinter to bring down winter provisions, and J will go with these men if you should send them.” The chief acceded to her request. On the following day he called the young men of his tribe and sent them to go with his wife. In the morning they started in two large canoes. They went to the Skeena River. The ice was very hard on the river. The young woman guided them on their way. Soon they came to the end of the ice on Skeena River; and the hearts of the young men failed them when they saw the hard ice on the river. Then the princess stood up in the bow of the canoe, and sang her spring song. At once the ice began to melt in front of the canoe as far as they could see. Then the young men took courage and went on. Soon they reached the end of the opening in the ice; and the Robin Woman stood again in the bow of the first canoe and sang with her beautiful voice as the robin sings in the springtime, and the ice melted away in front of the two large canoes. They went on, and the Robin Woman continued to sing. Therefore the people say nowadays that as soon as the robin sings the first time in spring, the ice begins to melt. They say that the bird’s singing over the ice causes it to melt. They went on many days, and finally reached a beautiful town. There were four rows of houses there, and every row was full of houses, and the chief’s house was in the middle of the first row. It was a very large house. The village was very beautiful, and all the people in the village looked very fine. 182 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN, 31 As soon as they reached there, the Robin chief invited the strangers who came to the town with his young daughter, and the chief was much pleased to see her come; and when all the young men were seated on one side of his large house, the chief first gave them cooked fresh spring salmon to eat, and then fresh salmonberries and all other kinds of fresh berries. After the meal the princess called the young men who came with her from her husband’s town, and led them to one side of her father’s house. There she opened the door of a large room and showed them snow and ice, which filled the inside of the large room. Then she took them to the other side of the house, opened the door of a large room, went in, and all her companions followed her. There she showed them a large hill full of salmonberry bushes and all kinds of berries around that beautiful hill. There were all kinds of wild flowers budding on the green grass, and all kinds of birds were singing on the flowers. The hummingbirds went in rapid flight among the flowers. Then the princess took them to the rear of the house and showed them a large beautiful river. The river was full of all kinds of salmon. So the people said that the house of Chief Robin had winter on one side, and summer on the other. On the following day the chief invited all his people into his large house. After the feast he began to speak, and said to his people, ““My dear people, you all know that my daughter has come up to me from her husband’s, for their provisions are gone, for they used them in the winter. Therefore my beloved daughter took her husband’s people to come with her for food. Therefore I want you, my great tribe, to bring her fresh spring salmon, fresh ripe berries—salmon- berries, blueberries, and all other kinds of berries—also mountain- goat meat and fat and the soft fat of grizzly bears.”’ On the following morning the birds were ready before day-dawn. Very early in the morning Chief Robin stood on the roof of his large house and began to sing to call his people. Then they all flew out to gather food; and before noon they came home one by one, bringing meat and fat of mountain goats, grizzly-bear meat and fat, salmon- berries and blueberries, and all kinds of food. At duskall the Robins had come back into the house of their chief. Then the chief said to his tribe that he would send his daughter back to her husband the following morning, with all the provisions that had been brought to his house. When the morning came, he stood on the top of his house to call the people, and sang as robins sing. So his people assembled, loaded the two canoes with all kinds of food, so that the two canoes were full of all kinds of provisions. Then the two canoesstarted down the river. The young princess was in the first canoe, and she did as before. She was standing in the bow, and sang her song, and the ice of the river melted away before them. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 183 Early the following morning they reached Xien village. Then the whole tribe of the chief, the husband of Robin, came down to unload the two canoes which were full of all kinds of meat and fresh ripe berries, of fat, and of fresh fish of all kinds. They unloaded the two canoes; and the chief invited all his people into his house, and gave them food until they were satisfied. Then the chief said to his people, ‘‘My dear people, I want to invite all the Tsimshian tribes, and give them some of this food; for they are starving, and famine is on the river.’”’ His tribe consented, and on the following morning a canoe manned by many young men and one prince, a nephew of the chief, went out as messengers to every tribe to invite the chiefs and their people. When they had visited each tribe, they came back to their chief with happy hearts. On the following day all the guests entered, and the tribes sat down by themselves with their chiefs. When they _ were all in, the chief said, ‘Bring your boiled fresh spring-salmon, put it into a wooden dish, and place it before the chiefs.” So his attendants did what he had said. They passed wooden spoons and horn spoons about to all the chiefs and their people, and they placed in front of the guests wooden dishes filled with fresh boiled salmon. Then all the guests wondered to see the fresh spring salmon, and they ate it all After they had eaten fresh spring salmon, the chief said, “ Bring the fresh ripe salmonberries,’”’ and his attendants brought in many new boxes filled with fresh ripe salmonberries mixed with fat of the grizzly bear. Again the guests were much astonished. They put the food into the wooden dishes, and passed about mountain-sheep horn spoons. Soon the guests tasted the nice fresh ripe salmon- berries, and the young men told the story about Chief Robin’s house and village. They said that the house was a marvelous one; that there was winter on one side, and midsummer on the other side. They continued, “‘ We saw all varieties of birds and of flowers.” Soon after they had told their story, the guests went home, and all their canoes were loaded with some of the food. They were all merry. On the following day the chief invited the chiefs of the tribes with their wives and people, as he had done before. When all the guests were in, he repeated the same words that he had said a few days before. He spoke to his attendants, and said, ‘‘ Bring in the fresh meat and fat.’’ They did so. They brought in a box. They poured water into the box, and put red-hot stones into it until the water began to boil. Then they put the meat over the hot stones and covered the boxes to keep the steam in. After the chiefs and their wives had eaten the meat and the soup, they gave them blueberries and many different kinds of berries. 1 The reason why they were astonished was because it was winter.—F. B. 184 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [mrH. ANN. 31 Before they finished eating, the young men outside the chief’s house shouted, and said, ‘‘There are two canoes coming around the point!” Now, we must remember the Sawbill-Duck Woman. As soon as the Robin Woman came back from her father with provisions, and the Sawbill-Duck Woman saw how many different kinds of food the Robin Woman had brought to her husband, she went all alone to her fatherforfood. She arrived at her father’s house, and told her father what the father of Robin had done for his daughter—how many different kinds of food she had brought down to her husband. There- fore the father of Sawbill-Duck Woman assembled his whole tribe and informed them of what his daughter had said about her husband, and how the Robin Woman had given to her husband, the chief, many kinds of food. Then the wise men of his people said, ‘‘Let us also go and bring to our chief’s daughter many kinds of food!” They all agreed, and on the following morning they went, and from noon on until the evening they came home one byone. Some brought whales; others, sea lions, seals, halibut, and all kinds of fish. They carved the whale blubber, the sea-lion blubber, and the seal blubber. On the following day they took down two large canoes and loaded them with all kinds of blubber—blubber of whales, sea lions, seals— and with all kinds of fishes. After they had filled the two canoes, they tied them together and put a wide plank across them. The Sawbill- Duck Woman sat down on it. Then the two large canoes went on fast. They took a little rest on one of the islands, and the Sawbill- Duck Woman looked at the beach. Behold! a large pile of mussels was hanging on a rock yonder. She went ashore and took off a large pile of mussels, and placed it by her side on the plank. Now, these two canoes went on toward the chief’s town. They came there about the time when the great feast given by the chief to all the tribes of the Tsimshian was ended. The chiefs and the people were all happy. While they were still feasting, some one came in and said that two canoes were coming up around the point, and all the guests were silent. Then another man came in and said that the other wife of the chief was coming from her father’s house with two large canoes full of something. So the chief ordered his attendants to go down and see what the woman brought home with her. Quickly they went down to the beach and saw the large cluster of mussels by the side of the Sawbill-Duck Woman on the plank where she was sitting. When the men saw the large cluster of mussels by her side, they went back quickly to the chief’s house before all the guests had gone out. The chief of the feast asked, ‘‘What did she bring home with her?’”’ The men who had gone down told him that she had brought home a large pile of mussels. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 185 Then the chief became very angry; and he was ashamed, for in his house were all the chiefs and head men of the Tsimshian tribes. They were all silent. At last the chief of the feast said to his attend- ants, ‘‘Go down to the canoes and capsize them!’’ So a number of his young men went down and turned over the two canoes, which were filled with all kinds of fish and animals. Then the Sawbill-Duck Woman flew out to sea, and the young men who had capsized the two large canoes saw the blubber of whales floating on the water, and also blubber of sea lion, of seals, and of all kinds of fishes. They ran back to the chief quickly and told him of what had happened. They said, ‘‘These two canoes are full of the richest food—blubber of whales, sea lions, and seals, and of all kinds of fish.” Therefore the chief said, ‘‘Gather the whale blubber and the blubber of sea lions and seals, and bring it in! We will give it to all the chiefs here. And also take up all the fishes, and we will give them to the head men: of all the tribes, that they may take them home for their wives and their children.” Therefore the young men went down again quickly to bring in the blubber; but, behold! it had been transformed into rocks and large round bowlders. These are still on the beach at the end of Prince Rupert Town. The young men went back to the chief and told him that the canoes and their load had been transformed into rocks and bowlders on the beach; and now the chief was still more ashamed, and he was very angry. All the chiefs went out from the feast. They were amazed to see the rocks and bowlders on the beach, and every one went home full of joy. 25. Tar Princess WuHo REJECTED HER CousIN! There was a custom among our people that the nephew of the chief had to marry the chief’s daughter, because the tribe of the chief wanted the chief’s nephew to be the heir of his uncle and to inherit his place after his death. This custom has gone on, generation after generation, all along until now, and the places of the head men have thus been inherited. So it is with this story. A very long time ago there was a great village with many people. They had only one chief. There was also his sister. They were the only two chiefs in the large town. The chief also had a beautiful daughter, and the chief’s sister had a fine son. All the people of the village were glad to see the young prince and the young princess growing up, and they expected that these two would soon marry. Therefore the relatives of the prince went and talked with the father of the princess, and they also went to the uncles of the princess and talked to them. + Notes, p. 767. 186 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Now, the relatives of the girl accepted, but the girl rejected the proposal and said that she would not marry him; but the young prince loved her very much, and still she refused him. The young man loved her still more, and he was always true to her. Moreover, he was very anxious to speak to her, but the young woman rejected him. Now, the princess wanted to make a fool of her cousin. One day she dressed herself up and went to the end of the village to take some fresh air. The young man saw her pass by his door, and he went after her. Soon he saw her sitting under a large tree, and went up to her, and the girl was very kind to him. She smiled when she saw him coming. Then the young man sat down by her side under the tree as gently as he could. He asked her if she did not want to marry him. The girl said, ‘‘If you make a deep cut in your cheek, then you may marry me.” Therefore the handsome young man took his knife and cut down his right cheek. The girls laughed at him, and they went home. When the cheek of the young man was healed, the princess put on her finest dress, passed the door of her cousin, and the young man saw her pass by. He followed her, and saw her sit at the same place where he had met her before. He went to her; and she stretched out her hands to greet him, put her arms around him, and kissed him once, since her cousin wanted to marry her. Then the young man loved her still more because she had kissed him the first time ever since he had loved her; and when the young man was overflowing with love, she said, ‘‘If you love me so much, show your love and make a cut down your left cheek; then I shall know that you really love me.”’ The young man did not like to doit. However, he wanted to marry her, and so he took his knife and made a cut down his left cheek. They went home, and the young man was always thinking of her. Soon his wounded cheek was healed. He did not mind his foolish acts. On the following day he saw her passing his door. The young man followed her, and she was sitting under the tree. She smiled at him when he was coming to her, and said, ‘‘Do you come to me again, my beloved one?” and he replied, “Yes, I come to marry you.” Then he put his arms around her, and she kissed him again. He asked her, ‘‘Do you love me, my dear cousin?” and she replied, “Yes, you know how much I love you,” and the princess asked him, “Do you also love me, cousin?” and he replied, “Indeed, I love you very much.” Thus said the young man, for he wanted to marry her. Then the princess said to him, ‘‘Now, show me your love, Cut off your hair, then you may marry me.” So the young prince took his knife and cut off his beautiful yellow hair. (In those days the young men and the old men wore their hair as long as women’s hair, and it was considered dishonorable to cut a man’s hair as we do it now.) BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 187 They went home, and on the following day the young man sent some one to her, saying that he wanted to marry her now. There- fore the messenger went to her and told her what her cousin had said; but the woman replied, “Tell him that I do not want to marry a bad-looking person like him, ugly as he is;”” and she gave him the nickname Mountain With Two Rock Slides, as he had a scar down each cheek. She laughed at him and scorned him, saying, ‘I do not want to marry a man who cut his hair like a slave.” The young man’s messengers came back to him and told him what she had said. Therefore the youth was very much ashamed. He remembered that he also was a prince, and he cried because his own cousin had mocked him. Now, he decided to leave his father’s house and his uncle’s house, for he was ashamed before his fellows of the scars which he had made on his own cheeks by order of his beloved one. He went about, not knowing which way to go. Day by day he went, and he came to a narrow trail. He walked along it, and saw a small hut away off. He went toward it. Before it was evening he reached there; and when he was near, he walked up to it quietly. He stood outside and looked through a small hole. Behold! a woman was sitting there by the side of a fireplace. She said, ‘“‘Come in, dear prince, if it is you who was rejected by his own cousin!”” So the young man went in, and the woman made him sit down on the other side of the fire. She gave him to eat. When he started from home, four young men, his own friends, had accompanied him on his way; but three of them had gone back home, and only one, his dearest friend, followed him all along the way until they came to the little hut. After the old woman had given them to eat, she said to the young man, “Soon you will arrive at the large house of Chief Pestilence, which is just across the little brook yonder. Leave your companion at this side of the brook, and you yourself go to the large house. When you get there, push open the large door, then say this: ‘I come to be made beautiful in the house of Pestilence!’ Shout this as loud as you can. Then you willsee that the house on both sides is full of maimed persons. They will call you to come to their sides; but do not go there, because they will make you like one of them. When they stop calling you, then Chief Pestilence will call you to the rear of the house. Follow his calling. He will make you beauti- ful.” Thus said the old woman to him. On the following day, after they had had their breakfast, they started. As soon as they crossed the brook, the prince said to his companion, ‘Stay here, and I will go on alone. Wait until I come back to you!” So the companion staid there. Now he went on alone. Soon he saw a large house in the distance, and went as quickly as he could. He pushed open the door, ran in, 188 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [PTH. ANN. 31 and shouted at the top of his voice, “I came to be made beautiful, Chief Pestilence!”’ Then all the maimed people on both sides of the house beckoned to him and shouted. Those on one side would say, ‘Come this way, come this way!” and those on the other side said, ‘‘Come, come, come!” The prince remained standing in the doorway. There were many good-looking women among these maimed persons. They shouted and called him; but he stood still, waiting until Chief Pestilence should come forth from his room in the rear of the large house. Soon the noise of the maimed people ceased. Then the door of the chief’s room was opened, and, behold! Chief Pestilence came forth with his beautiful daughter. He said, ‘‘ Dear prince, come this way!” Then the young man went to him and sat down on his right side. Then Chief Pestilence ordered his attendants to bring his bath- tub. They brought him a large tub full of hot water. Then the chief took the young man, put him into this tub, and, as soon as he was in the tub, the water began to boil and the water boiled over the tub, boiling of its own accord. When the dross was all off, the chi f took the bare bones of the young man, put them on a wide board, joining them together, and after he had done so, he called to his young daughter, who leaped over the bones. Then the young man was alive again. His features were changed, and his body was as white as snow. Then the chief said, ‘Bring me a nice comb!” and his attendants brought him a comb of crystal. The chief took it and combed the prince’s hair down to his loins. His hair was red, like tongues of fire. He was the most beautiful of all. The chief did not want to let him go at once, but kept him in his house for two days. The young man thought he had been there two days, but in reality two years had passed. Then the young man remembered his friend whom he had left by the brook before he entered the house of Chief Pestilence. Now, the prince told the young woman that he loved his friend by the brook; therefore the young woman said, ‘‘Let us go to see him!” They went together; and when they came to the place, they found the man’s bare bones heaped up there. Therefore the young prince wept, but the young woman commanded him to take the bare bones to her father’s house. The young man did what the young woman had told him, and took the bare bones to the chief. The chief ordered his attendants to bring his bathtub. They brought it to him, and he put the bare bones into the tub. Then the water began to boil, and the dross of the bare bones boiled over the tub. Thus the young man saw what Chief Pestilence had done to him. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 189 Then the chief took out the bones and placed them on a wide board and joined them together; and the young woman leaped over them four times, and the young man was alive again. Next the chief asked for his own comb. They brought it to him, and the chief asked what color of hair he wanted. The man said, “Dark-yellow hair.”” He also asked him how long he wanted it; and the man said, “‘ Right down to the knee.”’ So the chief combed his hair down to his knees; and this man was lighter color than the other. Now they started for home. It was not many days before they arrived at their home. The prince looked like a supernatural being, and his friend too was handsomer than any of the other people. They came and visited them; and all the people talked about these two men who had just come back from the house of Chief Pestilence, who had transformed them and given them great beauty. The young people coveted their beauty, and they questioned them one day to know how far the house of Chief Pestilence was from their village. Then the prince’s friend told them that it was not very far away. Now, let us go back to the princess who years ago had refused to marry her own cousin. She was very anxious to see her cousin who had just come home from the house of Chief Pestilence. People were talking about it, that he was more beautiful than any other person in the village; and she heard the people say that he looked like a super- natural being. Therefore the young woman tried hard to see him. One day the chief, the father of the princess, invited his nephew to his house. The prince went with some of the chief’s head men; and as soon as the prince entered his uncle’s house, the young princess looked at him. Oh, how fine he looked! and more beautiful than any of the people. Then she tried to make her rejected cousin turn and look at her, but the young man took no notice of her courting. His hair was like fire, and his face shone like the rays of the sun. Now, the young woman came down from her room, and walked to and fro behind the guests, laughing and talking, trying to make the beautiful prince look at her; but he took no notice of her. As soon as the feasting was over, he arose and went home, and the young princess felt full of sorrow. The following day she sent her maid to call the beautiful prince. When the girl came to him and told him what her mistress had said to the prince, he did not answer a word, and the maid went back to her mistress and told her that the prince would not answer her a word. She sent to him again; and when the girl came to him, she told him that her mistress wanted him to come and see her. But he said to the girl, “Go and tell her that she rejected me then, so I will not go to her now.” ‘Then the girl went and told her mistress what the prince had 190 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 said. The princess sent her girl again. ‘Go and tell him that I will do whatever he desires me to do.” She went and told him what her mistress had said: ‘‘My mistress says that whatever you desire her to do she will do.” Then the prince said to the girl, ‘Go and tell her that I desire her to cut down her right cheek, and I will come and be her guest.”’ Therefore the girl went and told her mistress what the prince had said. So the princess took her knife and cut down her right cheek. She said to her maid, ‘Go and tell him that I will do whatever he wants me to do.” She went and told the prince what her mistress had done. Again the beautiful prince said, “Just tell her to cut down her other check, and then I will come and see her.”” So she went and told her mistress, and thereupon the princess cut her left cheek. Again she sent her maid, who went to him and told him. This time he said, “Tet her cut her hair, then I will go to her.” She went and told her,, and the princess took her knife and shaved off her hair, and she sent her hair to him. The maid took it to the prince; but when the prince saw the hair, he refused to accept it. ‘Don’t bring it near me! It is too nasty! Take it back to your mistress and tell her that I don’t want to see the ugly scars on her cheeks and her ugly shaved hair. It is too nasty for me.’”’ Then he left, and laughed louder and louder, mocking her; and the girl returned to her mistress very sad. She came slowly; and her mistress asked her, ‘““My dear, what tidings do you bring?”’ Then she told her mistress how scornfully he had spoken of the ugly scars on her cheeks, and of her shaving her hair, and that everybody had been laughing at her, and that every one had heard him mocking her. Then the young princess was very much ashamed. She set out with her maid, and walked along crying. She wanted to hang herself, but her maid talked to her and comforted her all the way. They went on and on, trying to go to the house of Chief Pestilence. Her heart took courage, for she hoped to get there and ask Chief Pestilence to make her beautiful. They went on and on, and passed many mountains and rivers and valleys, and reached the edge of a large plain. There they met a man, who asked them which way they intended to go; and the princess told him that they intended to go to the house of Chief Pestilence. She passed by him, and did not look at him, for she was ashamed to let any one look at her. Soon they saw a large house in the distance. They went toward it; and when they reached the door, they went right in and shouted as they stood in the doorway, ‘‘ We come to the house of Chief Pesti- lence to be made beautiful!” Then all the maimed people on both sides of the house called to them, ‘Come, come, come!” and those on the other side shouted, “This way, this way, this way!” and the princess went to those who called her to come; and the other one went to those who shouted ‘This way!” BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 191 Then the maimed people fell on the princess, broke her backbone, and made her lame. They turned her head to one side, and broke one of her arms; and those on the other side plucked out one of the eyes of her maid, tore up one side of her mouth, and scratched the two women all over their bodies, and then threw them outside. There they lay wounded, and nobody came to help them. The princess was more severely injured than her maid. When the maid felt a little better, she saw her mistress lying there with wounds all over her body. She went to her, and saw how she was bruised. They were both in great distress, and the princess was groaning. So her maid helped her up and led her home. They spent many days coming down, and finally arrived at their home. Then she lay in bed, and finally died. Therefore the people in those days made it a law that no young woman should have any say about her marriage. If a young man wanted to marry a young woman whom he chose, then the parents of the young man went to the parents of the young woman and talked with them; and when they agreed, the uncles of the man went and talked to the uncles of the woman; and when they agreed also, the relatives of the young man met among themselves, and the relatives of the young woman also met among themselves. Then the female relatives of the young man went to give presents to the young woman. Even though the young woman does not want to marry the man, she has to consent when the agreement has been made on both sides to marry them. When the prince and princess have married, the tribe of the young man’s uncle set out. Then the tribe of the young woman’s uncle also set out, ahd they have a fight. The two parties cast stones at each other, and the heads of many of those on each side are hit. The scars made by the stones on the heads of each chief’s people are signs of the marriage pledge. At the end of this fight the people of the young man take an expensive garment, and, with the blood running down their faces, they go to the house of the woman’s uncle, and they put her on this expen- sive garment. Eight princes put her on this garment. Sometimes the uncle’s tribe take the girl to her husband in two large canoes filled with people. They put a wide plank over the canoes to let the girl sit on it. They sing while they are on the water. In the canoes they have a large amount of property and all kinds of food as well. The bride is placed on the left-hand side of the bride- groom in the man’s uncle’s house. For three days they sit there without eating anything and without drinking; and neither bride nor bridegroom is allowed to laugh or talk or look around. While the young people play in the house where the bride and groom are sitting, trying to make them laugh or talk or look around, the couple 192 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 must look right into the fire. At the end of the three days they are allowed to do as they like. This is the end. 26. THe Bear WuHo Marriep a Woman?! Onceupona time there lived a widow of the tribe of the G-i-spa-x-la’°ts. Many men tried to marry her daughter, but she declined them all. The mother said, ‘‘ When a man comes to marry you, feel of the palms of his hands. If they are soft, decline him; if they are rough, accept him.” She meant that she wanted to have for a son-in-law a man skillful in building canoes. Her daughter obeyed her commands, and refused the wooings of all young men. One night a youth came to her bed. The palms of his hands were very Pedal, and therefore she accepted his suit. Early in the morning, newer he had suddenly disappeared, even before she had seen him. When her mother arose early in the morning and went out, she found a halibut on the beach in front of the house, although it. was midwinter. The following evening the young man came back, but disappeared again before the dawn of the day. In the morning the widow found a seal in front of the house. Thus they lived for some time. The young woman never saw the face of her husband; but every morning she found an animal on the beach, every day a larger one. Thus the widow came to be very rich. She was anxious to see her son-in-law, and one day she waited until he arrived. Suddenly she saw a red bear (mzs-6’l) emerge from the water. He carried a whale on each side, and put them down on the beach. As soon as he noticed that he was observed, he was trans- formed into a rock, which may be seen up to this day. He was a supernatural being of the sea. 27. Tur Prince Wuo Was Taken AWAY BY THE SPRING SALMON ? There were two towns in the canyon of G‘its!ala’ser. One was called G'itxts!a’x1, the other one G'i-lax-ts!4’ks. They were on Skeena River, and each of these towns had a chief. Toward the end of winter the people had spent all their provisions. There was a famine, and the people were in want of food. At that time a famine was among the people almost every winter. The great chief of the G'itxts!a’xt had one young son. His father loved him very much. Therefore he bought for him a small slaye-boy to stay with him whenever his parents had to leave him for a while. The slave-boy loved his young master. In those days they would not give much food to a young prince, and this prince just chewed the fat of mountain goats, and every day he would make nice arrows. 1 Translated from Boas 1, p. 290. Notes, p. 747. 2 Notes, p. 770. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 193 One day his parents went up into the woods to get the bark of trees, which the people used to eat in those days in winter. While they were away, the slave-boy was very hungry, and cried for food, and the prince was displeased because the slave-boy was crying. Therefore he stopped the work on his arrows and went about the house to try to find something for his slave to eat. He went to his mother’s empty boxes, opened them, and at last he opened the last large box, and saw a small box inside. He opened the small box that was inside the large one, and found a large dried spring salmon, which his mother had folded up and put into the little box inside the large one. The prince took it out, unfolded the large spring salmon, took a small piece off and gave it to the little slave, who was erying from hunger. Then he put the dried salmon back in its place, and tied the two boxes up as they had been before. Late in the evening his parents came home, brmging much fresh bark which they had gathered. The mother went to the large box, untied it, and opened the small box inside the large one, took her large Spring salmon out, unfolded it, and found that she had lost a piece on the right side of her dried salmon. She had kept this large dried salmon for two long years. Now she was as angry as fire. She asked, ‘‘Who has stolen my salmon?”” She was very angry. At last the son said to his mother, ‘‘I did so, mother.’ Then she scolded her son, and said, ‘‘ Yes, you do not care about salmon in the summer. Now you are hungry and begin to steal. Don’t do it again!”’ Thus she said, and the young prince was very sorry. He said to his mother, ‘‘I did not eat your dried salmon. I gave it to my little slave, for he cried all day long after you left.” Then the mother scolded him still more, and so the young man began to ery. When his father saw him crying, he tried to stop his wife, but she did not stop. Then the prince called his little slave and told him that he would leave his father’s house that evening. The little slave wished to accompany him, but the prince refused to take him. He said, “‘ You shall stay at home with my parents.” So he went away secretly while the people were all in bed. Before he went, he took his marten garment and put some fat in the pores of all the martens (?) on his garment. ‘Then he went. After he had been away a little while, the little slave began to ery. He could not keep his mouth shut, and cried bitterly. Then the chief said, ‘‘Why do you ery so?” Then the little slave told him what had happened. ‘‘My young master went away from home.” So the chief got up and scolded his wife. He ordered his slave to call all the people of the village; and the slave went out and shouted, “My master’s son has gone away from home tonight, great village!”’ Soon all the people of the village came forth carrying torches of bark 50633°—31 ETH—16——13 194 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 and of pitch wood. Some went into the woods, and some to the river, searching for the prince, but they could not find him. The prince looked back and saw the lights of their torches, still the searchers did not see him. After midnight the searchers went back to their own houses and waited until morning came. The prince, however, went on, and came ashore below the village; and he sat there resting himself, for he was weary. Soon he thought that he heard the noise of a canoe poling up the river a little below the place where he was. He remained sitting there silently; and as soon as the canoe came up to him, it crossed the river and came toward him. It came to the place in front of him. In it were seated four men. They went up to him and called him to come to his father. Then the prince went down. They took him aboard the nice new canoe; and the men in the canoe said to the prince, ‘‘Now lie down and have a good rest and sleep.” The prince did as they told him, and the men paddled away to their home out at sea. When they reached the village, the young prince awoke from his sleep. He saw a large village. The houses were all carved with figures of spring salmon, and in the middle of all the houses was a very large carved house in which the chief lived. The canoe landed in front of this house. Then the men said to the prince, ‘‘Come up with us to our great chief’s house! He invites you in.” So they went up; and as soon as they got in, the prince saw the great chief lying in the rear of his large house. He was sick with palsy. For two years he had had that dreadful disease. The sick chief ordered his attendants to spread mats at one side of the large fire. They did so. Then the prince went and seated himself on the mats which had been spread for him by the chief’s attendants. As soon as he was seated on a mat, behold! an old woman came to his side, who touched him, and said, ‘‘My dear prince!’’ Then she questioned him. ‘‘Do you know who brought you here?” The prince replied, ‘‘No.”—‘‘The Spring Salmon have brought you here, for their chief has been sick with palsy for over two years, because your mother has kept him in her little box for two years. When you unfolded the salmon the other day, the chief got a little better because you did so.” Before the Mouse Woman informed the prince, she had asked him if he had no ear-ornaments of wool. The prince gave her both of his woolen ear-ornaments, which he took and threw into the fire; and she took the ear-ornaments while they were burning and ate them. She said, furthermore, ‘‘Some time when you are very hungry, take a club and club one of the children who are playing on the sand-hill behind the houses. Make a fire and roast it. Then eat it- - —_ a Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 195 Gather all the little bones and cast them into the fire.’”” The Mouse- Woman went away after giving her advice to the prince. Now, the chief ordered his attendants to give good food to the visiting prince. They did so; and after the prince had eaten, the chief said to him, ‘‘My son, I am well pleased that you have come to my village. You shall live with me in my own house, and I will take care of you, together with all my good people, until we take you back to your own home. I am glad because you have taken me out of your mother’s small box; and you unfolded my feet and my arms, therefore I sent to bring you to my house.’”’ Thus spoke the chief to the prince. Now, the prince stood there for a while. On the following day he was very hungry. Then he remembered the advice of the old Mouse Woman. He went behind the village, and saw there many children playing on the sand-hill. Some of them threw themselves down and rolled down to the foot of the hill. Then the prince stood there. He took a club, and when he saw a good-looking boy, he took hold of him and clubbed him. The boy was at once trans- formed into a nice little spring salmon. He was surprised. He took it and went up a little farther along the sand-hill. There he started a fire and roasted the whole small spring salmon; and when it was done, he ate it all. After he had eaten, he went to a brook, drank, and went back to gather all the bones, which he burned, as the old Mouse Woman had advised him to do. Then he went to the chief's house. In the evening, as soon as he was seated at the side of the house, he heard some one cry bitterly, saying, ‘‘Oh, my eye is sore, my eye is sore!”” Then the Mouse Woman came to him and said, ‘‘Go and search in the hole at the foot of your roasting-spit!”” He went quickly, and found the eye of the little spring salmon in the little hole where the roasting-spit had been placed. He threw it into the fire. When he went in, behold! the boy whose eye had been sore had recovered. The Mouse Woman also advised him, ‘‘As soon as you have eaten the fresh salmon, take a drink of fresh water’ (so the natives do nowadays; as soon as they have eaten any kind of salmon or any kind of fish, they take a drink of fresh water, that the salmon or other kinds of fishes may be revived again, and so go home again gladly). One day the chief sent his people to see if the leaves of the cotton- wood had fallen into the Skeena River. They went, and found a few leaves falling from the cottonwood tree. The Salmon called the leaves of the cottonwood tree salmon. It was early in the spring when the Spring Salmon were sent to see whether cottonwood leaves had fallen into Skeena and Nass Rivers. When they came back from these two rivers, the chief asked if there were salmon in the rivers. The scouts said that there were a few in the rivers. 196 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ rH. ANN. 31 The prince staid there a while longer in the town of the Spring Salmon. One day he was again very hungry. He went behind the town, where the children were playing on a sand-hill. Then he saw a beautiful fat youth. He took hold of him and clubbed him, and he became a good-looking small spring salmon. He roasted him at the same place where he had roasted the salmon before; and after he had eaten it all, he gathered the bones and threw them into the fire. Then he went to a brook, where he drank. Then he went home well satisfied. After a little while, some one came to the house, crying, ‘‘Alas, my rib is sore! Alas, my rib is sore!” He cried bitterly. When the young prince heard it, he went quickly to the place where he had roasted the spring salmon. He searched all around, and found a little rib under the chips. He cast it into the fire and went home, and the boy was well. After some time the chief ordered his slaves to go as scouts to the two rivers to see whether the salmon had come. So they went to examine the rivers. Now they saw that many leaves had fallen from the cottonwood trees. Then they returned to their master with the glad tidings, and the chief said that it would be better for them to get ready to move. Therefore he invited his tribe into his house. He told them what the scout slaves had to say, and all the people agreed to move within a few days. The scouts had brought home with them some fresh green leaves, and the whole tribe were glad to see the leaves. There- fore on an appointed day they were ready to move from their home in the deep sea. They went very slowly, and soon they reached the town of the Silver Salmon. Then the chief of the Spring Salmon told them that his scouts had brought home some nice new salmon, and that therefore they were moving. Thus he informed the Silver Salmon. Therefore the chief of the Silver Salmon said, ‘‘We will also move after you have gone a little distance.” Soon after they had left the town of the Silver Salmon, the chief took a small smooth round pebble from his own mouth and handed it to his adopted son, the prince. He said, ‘‘Take this and put it into your mouth. It will defend you against all dangers, death, and diffi- culties.”’. The young man took it and put it into his mouth, They went on their way, and soon they met many canoes. They asked the crew, ‘‘How is it in those two rivers? Are there any salmon?’ They said, ‘‘Yes.” Then the prince asked one of his men, ‘‘Who are these people?”” The man told him that these were the canoes of the Steelhead Salmon, who had come back from the two rivers, that they moved early in the spring, and that they were now on their way home. Soon they came to another large town, the village of the Humpback Salmon. The chief of the Spring Salmon told them that his scouts had BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 197 brought good tidings from the Skeena and Nass Rivers; and the chief of the Humpback Salmon replied, ‘‘We will go up Skeena and Nass Rivers after the Steelhead Salmon have passed.” They went on their way, and came to another village, the houses of which were carved in the form of the rainbow. The prince asked who these people were, and they told him that it was the town of the Dog Salmon. The chief told them also that his scouts had brought good tidings from Skeena and Nass Rivers; and the chief of the Dog Salmon replied, ‘‘We will go after the Humpback Salmon have passed.””’ They went on their way, and came to a large town, the town of the Cohoes Salmon. The carvings on their houses were curious hooked noses. The Spring Salmon told the Cohoes Salmon that he had good tidings,from the Nass and Skeena Rivers; and the chief of the Cohoes said, ‘‘We will wait until late in the fall, just before there is ice on the rivers.”” They went on their way; and after they had traveled a short distance, they came to a very large village, the village of the Trout. Their houses were carved with stars. The chief of the Spring Salmon told them that he had good tidings from the Nass and Skeena Rivers; and therefore the chief of the Trout said, ‘‘Chief, will you wait for us a couple of days, so that we may get ready to move with you?” The Spring Salmon con- sented to wait for a couple of days. Soon they got ready, and the chief of the Trout wanted to go ahead of the Spring Salmon. The Spring Salmon agreed to this, and the Trout went ahead. The Spring Salmon moved along slowly; and as soon as they reached just outside of the Skeena and Nass Rivers, just inside of Douglas and Stephens Islands, they rested for a while. Then the chief stood up in his canoe and said to his people, ‘‘ Now I will question you, and you shall answer me;” and so he asked the people in the first canoe, ‘Which way will you go?” and many canoes replied, ‘‘We will go up Nass River.’”” Then the chief said, ‘‘Oh, many of you are just like bones found on a sandbar in Nass River.” Then he questioned another company: ‘Which way will you go?” and they replied, ‘‘We will go up Ksdal River.’”’—‘‘Oh,” said the chief, ‘‘your flesh is harder than wood.” Then he turned to a third company: ‘‘Which way will you go?” They replied, ‘‘We will go up Gits!emga’lén.”” Then the chief said, “Go to those that will carry you there and that will throw you on the ground!’’? Then he turned to the fourth company and said, ‘‘And which way will you go?’ The fourth company replied, “We will go to the canyon of the Gits!ala’ser.’’ Then the first three companies replied, “Go there! Your ears shall be full of maggots.’ 1 Translation not certain: Spm-ga dzEt w: il palgaldtza’ sEm; ada dEm sa-0i ia’/ms xdzilaga’sEm. 198 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BrH. ANN. 31 The chief was very glad, for many of his company were going with him to the canyon of Grits!ala’ser. Then the four companies sepa- rated, each going to its own camp. All the Spring Salmon went on their way. Now the chief’s company in his large canoe was at the mouth of Skeena River, together with the prince. When they were close to the mouth of Skeena River, they rested for some time. Now I will go back to the beginning. When day came, after the prince had left his father’s house, the people searched for him in the daylight. Then the father of the prince assembled all the shamans in his house, and he said to them, ‘“‘I want you to let me know whether my son is dead or alive.” Then all the shamans of Gvits!ala’srr each worked his own spell, but none of them could explain to the chief what had happened. The chief and his chieftainess were very sad. There was only one great shaman left on the other side of the village. The chief spoke to his attendants, and said, ‘‘Go and bring that great shaman here!’’ So they went, called him, and took with them much property to present it to the great shaman. He was called Nés- wa-yée’°tk. Then the shaman went with all his companions; and when he came in, those who accompanied him arranged a seat for him. He put on his crown of grizzly-bear claws, put eagle’s down in the crown, put on his dancing-apron, and red paint on his face. He was quite naked, and took his rattle in his right hand and the white tail of an eagle in his left hand. Then he began to sing, and all lis companions struck batons against a cedar board which lay in front of them. The great shaman was dancing around the fire. As soon as his three songs were ended, he stood still in front of the father and mother of the prince who had been lost. He said to the father and mother, ‘‘Your boy is not dead. He is alive, and lives in the house of the Salmon people.” Then the father took a little comfort, and the shaman sang again. He ran around the fire; and after another three songs, he stood still again, and said, “The Spring Salmon took away your son. He is now in the house of the Spring Salmon chief; for your wife was angry with the boy because he took a little piece of her large dried spring salmon; and if you do not eat the dried spring salmon, your son will not come back this spring. As soon as you eat the dried spring salmon which you have kept for two full years in your box, the chief of the Spring Salmon will get better, and then your boy will come back with him.” Thus spoke the great shaman to the father and to the mother of the prince. After that he went to his own home on the other side of the canyon. Now, the parents of the prince took their dried salmon and ate it all. Not many days after the great shaman had done this, the prince’s RoAs] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 199 father invited the same shaman to come and to use all his spells. He did the same as before; and after he had danced, he told the boy’s parents that the chief of the Spring Salmon was now better, and that he would start soon to bring the boy up the river. He continued, “Now I will give you my advice again. Give orders to all your brave men who know how to fast in order to catch animals, and who have eaten ‘medicine,’ to obtain this power throughout the winter. I will give the same orders to my own tribe; and you yourself keep away from your wife until the spring salmon stop running up the river. I shall use my spells every day in your house. Let all the old women work on the salmon nets. Do not allow young women to touch the twine if their lives are unclean. Thus let every age have its own duty. Then let all the old men make new poles to be used this spring—those who are ready to fast.’”” Thus said the great shaman to the prince’s father. Therefore the father gave orders to his brave men and to the old women. Now the shaman ordered his own people to do the same, and therefore the two tribes made ready for the arrival of the spring salmon; and they also made ready their platforms on the side of a steep rock alongside of the canyon of Gits!ala’srr. Now the great shaman came to the chief’s house almost every evening, accompanied by all his friends. He tried to find out whether the spring salmon would arrive soon. Now the spring was coming; and as soon as the ice was floating in the river, the shaman said to all the people who had assembled in the chief’s house, ‘‘I have seen in my vision the chief of the Spring Salmon, and all his people accompanying him, leaving their village today, together with the prince.” The great shaman was dancing every day. After eight days had passed, he said, ‘‘ Now they have arrived at the mouth of Skeena River. The chief of the Spring Salmon wants to rest at the mouth of the river for a while.”’ Now we will return to the Spring Salmon. While they were resting at the mouth of Skeena River, the Spring Salmon children said, ‘‘Let us keep together and go up the (mélwilnzm?)!”” Soon the time came, and the Spring Salmon moved up the river slowly. They went up farther and farther, until they reached the mouth of the canyon of Gits!ala’srr. There they rested again. Now, the shaman had seen in his vision that the spring salmon were resting at the mouth of the canyon. ‘Therefore he ordered all the people to make haste and to go down to their platforms and to have their nets and polesready. They all went down quickly, and each put down his pole with the net at one end. Then the great shaman went down himself with his pole on his shoulder. He was sitting on his platform, and he put down his pole with the net at one end. The prince’s father also went down. Then the people caught many 200 - TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ern. ANN. 31 spring salmon. The shaman, however, had none, but the father of the prince caught many. Then the chief of the Spring Salmon saw the net of the great shaman on one side of the canyon, and stretching to the other side.t| So the Salmon chief saw that he had no way to go up through the canyon; and he said to the prince, ‘“‘ Now, my son, don’t let your father dry my flesh! Let him invite the people of all ages, and let them eat my flesh at once, and he shall throw my bones into the fire. Then he shall drink fresh water as soon as he has eaten me.” ‘Thus spoke the Spring Salmon. Then he went through the net of the great shaman. Therefore the shaman felt his net-line shake, and so he pulled up his net easily. He looked down to the lower end of his pole, and, behold! a large spring salmon was in his net. Therefore he shouted, so that his companions might come and help him. Two men came, and they pulled up the salmon on the shaman’s platform. When he got the salmon on his platform, the shaman’s supernatural helper came to him on his platform, and said to him, “‘ That is the chief of the Spring Salmon, with the lost prince in his stomach. Don’t club him hard, lest the prince should be hurt!’ Thus said the shaman’s super- natural helper. ‘“‘Lay the Salmon down easily, so that the prince may not be hurt!” He took the large Spring Salmon out of the bag net and put it down easily on the platform. Then he said to his companions, “‘Go to the village and tell the people that I caught the chief of the Spring Salmon who took away the young prince, and call four old shamans to be my helpers, and bring down a new cedar-bark mat and bird’s down and my bag of red ocher, also my rattle and my crown of grizzly-bear claws, my dancing-apron, and the white eagle tail.” They went, and they shouted, ‘‘The great shaman has caught in his bag net the chief of the Spring Salmon, who carried away our prince!” Therefore all the people assembled around the two men who brought the good tidings. They also said, ‘‘Let four old shamans go down to his platform to help him carry up the large Salmon to the chief’s house. Also take a new cedar-bark mat, red ocher, eagle’s down, his dancing-apron, his crown of bear’s claws, his rattle, and his white eagle tail.” So the four shamans went down and spread out the new cedar-bark mat. The great shaman put on his apron and his crown of bear’s claws. He took his rattle in his right hand, and the eagle tail in his left. The four shamans were already dressed before they went on the platform. Then they took the four corners of the cedar-bark mat on which the large salmon had been placed, and walked up slowly. The great shaman went ahead of them, shaking his rattle and swinging his eagle tail, going in front of the 1 Translation uncertain. OE —————eeeeeeerererererereeeeeeeeeeerlr etl ee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 201 four shamans who were carrying the large Spring Salmon on the mat. Before entering the chief’s house, he ordered all the young people to come out, for they were all unclean. He let all the aged people enter in front of the large Spring Salmon; and he made all the shamans dress up, men and women. Then the crowd moved into the house, and the chief laid a good-sized cedar board in the center of the house. Then all the old men and women were ready. The male and female shamans were dressed up, and came in after the large Salmon had been placed on the new cedar board. All the shamans marched around the fire four times. All the singers were ready, sitting around the house. Then the great shaman said, ‘“‘Let two very old women shamans get ready to cut this great chief Spring Salmon!” Then two very old women took up their large mussel-shell knives (these were very useful in olden times), and the whole assembly kept silence. Then one of the old women shamans said, ‘‘I will call the names of this chief of the Spring Salmon;’’ and she began to eall, “My dear chief Spring Salmon, named Quartz Nose, named Two Gills On Back, named Lightning Following One Another, named Three Jumps!’ Now they began to cut the large Spring Salmon along its big stomach. They cut along easily, and took out the large stomach; and one of the women cut the large Salmon, and the other cut open the large stomach. When she opened it, behold! a small child was in it. She took it up easily, and the great shaman began to sing, while all the other shamans, male and female, swung their rattles. The singers were singing as loud as they could, and the great shaman was running around the small child. It was the size of a span from the middle finger to the thumb. While the shamans were working around the prince, he began to grow very quickly, not as children grow up nowadays. He came to be of his former size. : Then he told his story—how the Spring Salmon had taken him away the same night when he left his father’s home; and he told his father’s people how he reached the village of the Salmon. He con- tinued, ‘“‘I did not know where I was until the old Mouse Woman came to my side and asked for my ear-ornaments. Then she told me as follows: ‘This is the town of the Spring Salmon which you see. The chief was sick for two years, until you took him out of your mother’s box. Then he was a little better. Therefore he sent his attendants when your mother was angry with you.’” And he told his story right along—how he had lived at the town of the Spring Salmon until the chief was quite cured, and how the chief sent his people often to Skeena River to see if salmon (that is, the leaves of cottonwood) were in the river, until the messengers brought the news that the season had arrived. Then they moved, and first passed the town of the Silver Salmon, to whom the chief gave the good news 202 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 from Skeena River—how they went on and passed the town of the Humpback Salmon, and how the chief told them the news from Skeena River; how they went on and passed the village of the Dog Salmon, and told them the same story; how they went on and passed the village of the Cohoes chief, and told them the news; how they went on and passed the town of the Trout, and how all the Trout had asked Chief Spring Salmon to wait until they themselves were ready to go ahead of the Spring Salmon, to which the chief had consented; how they waited there two days and met the Steelhead Salmon coming from the rivers, when the ice was still on the rivers, who told them that it was good weather on the Skeena and Nass Rivers and about the fishing; how they rested between two islands; and how the chief had asked all his people where they would camp, and how they had answered him what rivers they chose; and how they had come to the mouth of the canyon and had seen all the bag nets at the sides of the canyon; how some nets had been well open and others closed. He continued, “‘Only the net of the great shaman was wide open, and reached from one side of the canyon to the other end of the other side. Therefore my Salmon father had no way to go up any farther.’’! All his father’s people listened in silence and astonishment. There- fore he turned to his mother, and said, ‘‘Now, mother, don’t keep dried salmon in your box any longer; and if any one cooks fresh salmon of any kind, throw the bones into the fire and drink as soon as you finish eating. Then the salmon will go home, and will revive again safely.’’ The father kept the prince in his house. The prince kept a little round pebble in his mouth, which his father Salmon had given him before they moved from their town. Therefore the prince did not need any food after he had come home. One day the prince called four young men, who were to be his com- panions; and he loved them very much, and they loved him also. The prince staid in his father’s house for a long time. He began again his old occupation of making arrows with eagle’s feathers, and therefore eagle feathers were very useful to him. Therefore one day he went out with his four friends to his eagle trap, which he used to make, digging a deep pit, with some small pieces of wood across the opening of the pit. They put the bait on top, and some man would stand in the pit. As soon as the eagle saw the bait, he would swoop 1 Before the spring salmon went up the river, the Tsimshian moved from Nass River to Skeena River. Allthe Tsimshian tribes went to Skeena River for their salmon fishing. When they reached the mouth of Skeena River, they saw the spring salmon jumping. Then the Tsimshian children shouted, saying, “ Ayuu, do it again!’’ and every time they saw salmon jump, they shouted, “Ayuu!’’ The prince ex- plained this to his father’s people at G-its!ala’srr when he came home. That which we call the jumping ofsalmon is no jumping, but the salmon were just standing up in the canoe to stretch their bodies; and when the Salmon hear the children or the people shout ‘‘ Ayuw, do it again!’’ they are very glad to hear them shout ‘‘Ayuu, do it again!”? When the salmon stop jumping, the people say, ‘We will catch you tonight in ournets!’? Sonowadays the people, when they see salmon jumping, shout, “Ayuu!” to make the salmon happy.--HENRY W. TATE. BoOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 203 down upon it to take it, and the eagle’s feet would snk down. Then the man in the pit would take the feet of the eagle and club it. Some- times they would catch many in this way in a single day, and they used their feathers. The four young men did not know what kind of bait the prince used; and one day they went again, as they had been doing for many days before. There was one among the young men who loved the prince more than the other three, and whom the prince also loved. Before they went to the eagle trap, the prince called this youth, and took out of his mouth the small stone and put it into the mouth of his beloved friend. Then they went on; and as soon as they arrived at the place where the trap was, the three men went into hiding, and the fourth one went down into the pit, ready to catch eagles, as usual. The prince himself lay down at the opening of the trap, and became like a small spring salmon, very pretty to look at, and shining brightly. Then a large hawk which flew high up in the air looked down for his prey, and saw a nice little spring salmon on the ground below. Therefore he turned his wings down rapidly and picked up the small spring salmon by the throat and flew away quickly. Behold! there was the young prince dead on his eagle trap, his mouth full of blood. When the young men, his companions, saw this, they wept bitterly, and his friends took him down to his father’s house. Then all his people mourned over him for many days. At the end of the mourning-season the whole village took him to his grave. They put the coffin in the same place where he had been taken away when he had taken the shape of a sprig salmon. They put the coffin on four strong poles to protect it from the wolves. When night came, the four friends staid under the coffin. About midnight one man left his companions and went home, and three remained. At midnight another man went home, and two remained. Then after midnight the third man went home, and only one remained. He was the one who loved the prince most in his heart. Before daylight he thought he heard the sound of people coming up the river in canoes and talking to one another. Soon the canoes reached the beach in front of the place where they were. The people went up to where the coffin was. Three men stood at the foot end, and one of them climbed up to the coffin. He loosened the rope around the coffin and opened it. Then he said, ‘‘Dear prince, your father the chief sent us to take you down to him.” Thus spoke the man who had climbed up. Then the prince arose, and went down laughing for joy, and his beloved friend stood there speechless. The men helped the prince down from the coffin. Then the prince’s friend went to him and said, ‘‘My dear prince, Tam here. Don’t go with those men! Come down with me to your own father’s house!’” The prince, however, took no notice of him, 2.04 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 They went down to the canoe, and the prince went aboard with them. Then the friend jumped aboard. The four men, however, did not see him, and the prince also did not see him. They paddled away happy, and their hearts full of joy. The man was very anxious to talk to the prince, and went to him in the canoe, sat down by his side, and said, ‘‘My dear prince, did you know that I came aboard with you?” but the prince took no notice of him at all. Therefore the man began to cry. Now the prince said to the men who took him in the canoe, *‘ Pull hard! I feel something touching me on my right side.’ They pulled hard. The prince’s friend was angry with those men who were taking away the prince, and he saw that they all had around their throats large wreaths of cedar bark. Therefore he went to the steersman, took the big red thing around his throat, and pressed it between his hands. Then the steersman fainted. The young man left him and went to the others and did the same, until he had done so to all of them. As soon as he let go, each man revived. Therefore they paddled away hard to get home. When they reached there, the whole village of the Salmon people greatly rejoiced, and the friend of the prince was astonished to see them. They took the prince into the chief’s house, where there were a great number of Salmon people. The prince’s friend stood outside. No one took notice of him. Therefore he was thinking of his own home, and stood outside crying. When he stopped crying, he wiped the tears from his eyes down his cheeks with the palm of his hand. Then he felt something in his own mouth. Behold! it was the small pebble which the prince had put into his mouth before they had gone to the eagle trap. Therefore he took the stone out of his own mouth and offered it to the prince, who was seated by a large fire, where he was eating. The young man took the small pebble and put it into the prince’s mouth. Then the prince looked around, and saw his friend sitting by his side. He put his arm around his neck, and said to him, ‘‘Did you come along with me?”’ The youth replied, ‘Yes, I came along with you, my beloved prince.” Then the prince said to his friend, ‘‘If you are hungry, go behind the village, and you will see the children playing on the sand-hill. Take one of them and club it. Make a fire and roast it whole; and when you have eaten enough, throw the remains into the fire, bones and all, and drink fresh water.”’ None of the Salmon people knew that the young man was there, only the prince. At night they lay down in one bed to sleep, and they were talking together. Whenever he was hungry, the young man did what the prince had told him. On the following day the prince asked his friend, ‘‘Did you hear the drum which is always being beaten at the end of the village?” Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 205 “Yes,” he replied. ‘‘They are dancing. If you want to see them, go down and look up. Don’t go in! Just look in at a knot-hole. Take with you leaves of a small hemlock tree, and put them into the knot-hole.”” Therefore the man went; and when he reached in front of the large house, he heard a drum and singing, and he looked with one eye through the knot-hole. He saw that the house was full of eagle down, and all the Salmon people were dancing, wearing garments set with abalone shells. When he took his eye away from the knot-hole, it was full of herring spawn. Then he put the hemlock branch through the knot- hole; and when he pulled it out, it was full of herring spawn. He ate it and went home. The prince asked him, ‘‘Where have you been all this time?” and he told him that he had been to sce the dancers. Now the man had been there a long time. One day he felt home- sick for his parents and his village, and he cried all day long. Then the prince came to him and asked him why he was crying, and he told him that he was homesick for his parents and brothers and sisters. Therefore the prince said, ‘‘[ will take you up there after a while, early in spring; for now the ice covers all the rivers, and no one can go up Skeena River until the ice is melted.’ The prince tried in every way to comfort him. They went to the place behind the village; and the prince said to his friend, ‘‘I will take you to the mouth of Skeena River, and then I will go back. I will stay here as long as my Salmon father is alive. You shall tell this story in my father’s house when you get home. My Salmon father also said to me, ‘When the people of the canyon cut the spring salmon, let them cut the head first, and the tail also, but don’t let them break the tail off with the hand. Just cut it right through with the mussel- shell knife. Don’t use a stone or bone blade. Otherwise thunder and lightning and heavy rains will come upon them and bring dis- aster to your people.’’’ After the prince had spoken, the man said, ‘“‘My dearly beloved prince, I do not want to leave you here. I want you to go back with me to our home, lest your relatives and your father make complaint against me if you do not come back with me.” Therefore the prince spoke again, and said, ‘‘I will go back with you; and as soon as [ arrive at home, I shall die, and then I shall stay with my grandfather and his people.’’ The friend compelled him to go home with him. At the end of their talk they went into the chief’s house. That was the winter-time, and the prince always said to his friend that he should club one of the children behind the town whenever he was hungry, and so his friend did so all winter long. Early in spring the prince spoke to the Salmon people. ‘‘O father! I wish to go as a scout and to see if there are any salmon in Skeena 206 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 River.”’ Therefore the Salmon father invited all his people into his house, and told them what his adopted son had said; and all the Salmon were glad, because the prince was wise. Early the next morning they took the prince down to a new canoe. They launched it, and they all went aboard, together with the prince and his friend. Then the Salmon people paddled; and as soon as they arrived at the mouth of Skeena River, they saw the ice floating down, therefore they could not go any farther. Then the prince said to his companions, “‘Let us try to go a little farther up;’’ and the young people pulled very hard to get ahead, but they were hindered by floating ice. Soon they arrived at the mouth of Grits!emgalén River. Then the prince said to his friend, ““You go ashore here and walk up to the village.” They both cried for a while, and then separated, their hearts full of sorrow because they were never to meet again. The young man stood on shore, weeping. Then the canoe of the prince went down river quickly, and the young man lost sight of it. Therefore he went up to his own town; and when he arrived there, his parents were glad of his coming. His father called all the people; and when they were all in, the young man told his story—how the Spring Salmon had taken the body of the prince, and that he was living there now, that he had gone with him in the canoe of the Spring Salmon. He continued, “We did not know me at first; and when we reached the place, I remembered that he put a small pebble into my mouth, so I put it back into his mouth. Then he knew that I was with him. He still loved me, but the Salmon people did not see me at all.’’ Moreover, he told the people that the prince would not come back any more, because the Spring Salmon loved him, and that many of the young Salmon people loved him much. He also told the people what advice the prince had given, to be very careful in cutting the spring salmon when cutting off the head and the tail, and that if they broke the backbone at the head or tail, then thunder and lightning would burn up the mountains and the village; and he said, ‘‘Don’t use stone or bone knives, because this will make heavy rains and the rivers will overflow.” Furthermore, he said to them, ‘“‘Don’t let the people keep salmon in their boxes when it is dry, lest there be no salmon the following summer;” but he also told them how the Herrings were dancing every day, and how beautiful the houses of all the Salmon were; that the Spring Salmon had carved houses, and also Silver Salmon, Humpback Salmon, Dog Salmon, Cohoes Salmon, and Steelhead Salmon, but that the houses of Trout were carved bet- ter than all the others; that the Spring Salmon were the chiefs of all the Salmon, and that their town was way out at sea, and so on; and that all the tribes of Salmon were people. This is the end. They have always kept the story of the prince and the Salmon. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 207 28. Tor Town or Cuter PEACE ! In a village at Metlakahtla lived a great chief. His chieftainess was a great noblewoman; and although the chief had many wives, he loved her most, for she was a princess, the daughter of the chief of another village. Therefore her husband loved her and honored her. Many years had passed since they were married, and still she had no children; but when she was getting old, she conceived and bore himason. They loved him very much. Soon he grewup; and when he was a young man, everybody loved him. The father wished his son to marry, and therefore the young man was married to a princess. His father gave away much property to the relatives of the princess; and the princess’s relatives—her uncle and also her father—gave him four costly coppers, elk skins, boxes of crabapples, boxes of cranberries mixed with grease, and all kinds of food. The young man loved his wife, and all his people loved her. The princess, however, was downcast because her husband was a great gambler. Every day he would go to the gambling-house, and he would join the gamblers. Sometimes he lost much. At other timeshe won. His wife would stay at home. Soon the princess gave birth to a child. One day the prince went, as he was used to doing, to the gambling- house, and he gambled and lost all his property, and he lost all his father’s property—his costly coppers, his large canoes, and_ his slaves—and he lost also his father and his mother and his wife and his little boy. Late in the evening he came home. He was very sorry on account of what he had done to his good family. As soon as his wife saw him enter, she arose and took a dried salmon; but the young man was silent. He stared into the fire like one dumb. His wife roasted the salmon, cut it, and put it in a large dish and placed it before her husband; but the prince did not take any notice of it, for he felt distressed because he had lost all his property and his family. Therefore he kept silent. The dish remained untouched in front of him. When it was late in the evening, the woman scolded because her husband did not eat the salmon which she had prepared for him. Therefore she took the dish away, and said, ‘“You ought to eat the salmon of the daughter of Chief Peace.”” She was angry, and threw the dish with the salmon into the fire. Then the young man’s heart was full of sorrow. He arose and went to bed and lay down there. He thought that he would not be 1 The people have a little story about a village on an island way out in the ocean, in which a great chief is said to live, Chief Peace. He is said to have a very beautiful daughter called Peace Woman, a very beautiful girl; and many princes tried to marry her, but they could not reach her town, because it is too far away from the mainland. They could not find their way back from her home, and they all perished on their way out on the ocean.— HENRY W. TATE.—Notes, p. 779. 208 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 able to endure the shame of staying at home. Therefore he decided to leave the house while the people were asleep. He arose from his bed, took mountain-goat fat and some tobacco to chew, and some small coppers. ‘Then, before going out, he went to one of his father’s slaves, and said to him that he was leaving his father’s house because he was angry. Then he went away quickly, without waiting for an answer. As soon as he had gone, the great slave shouted, ‘‘Master, master, your son has gone away!’’ The chief said, ‘‘Where did he go?” The slave replied, ‘‘He left just now. He told me that he was going to leave you and your people.” Therefore the chief said, ““Go out and call my tribe. Tell them that my beloved son has left my house, being angry.”’ So the slave went out and shouted, ‘‘My master’s son has left full of anger.” Therefore the whole tribe arose; the people took their torches of pitch wood and of olachen, and searched in the woods and on the beach and in the water. The young prince, however, had gone straight behind his father’s house, and he came down at the beach on the other side. He walked around the sandy shore of the bay until he came to a point of land. There he sat down at the foot of a spruce tree; and while he was there he heard a canoe rounding the pot. Then he heard the crew saying, “This is the place!” He remained sitting there. Then he heard them come ashore toward him. Behold! two men stood in front of him, who said, ‘‘Prince, come down to our canoe and go with us! We have come to take you home.”’ So the prince went down to their canoe to accompany them, and the two men asked him to le down and to sleep. He obeyed, and the two men paddled very hard and soon reached their master’s village. There they woke the prince, who had been asleep all the way. When the young man awoke, behold! he saw a a great town and many people. He went ashore, and some people guided him to the chief’s house. There he sat down on one side of the fire, and many people came in. As soon as he was sitting there, some one touched his side, and said, ‘‘My dear, throw your ear- ornaments into the fire!” He did so. This was the Mouse Woman, who asked him, ‘“‘Do you know who has brought you here?” He replied, ‘‘No.” Then she said, ‘‘This is the town of Chief Peace. He has a beautiful daughter.”” The Mouse Woman continued asking him, ‘“‘Have you a little fat, tobacco, or a small piece of copper?” The prince said, “‘Yes, I have fat, and tobacco, and copper.” Then the Mouse Woman said, “‘ Ask the chief’s attendants to spread a mat in front of the chief and the chieftainess and the three uncles of his daughter; and then throw the fat on the mat, and also the tobacco. Then the small amount of fat will enlarge on the mats, and after- — boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 209 ward take the small coppers and break them to pieces. Throw these down also in front of the great chief and his wife and the girl’s uncles.”” Thus spoke the Mouse Woman, and she went away. Presently the prince said to the chief’s attendanis, ““Spread two mats in front of the chief, two mats in front of the chieftainess, and two before each of the three uncles of the girl.” The attendants did as they were told; and the prince first threw a little fat on the mat in front of the chief, and it became a great pile. He also threw tobacco on the other mat, and the tobacco became a great pile. He did the same in front of the chieftainess and of the three uncles of the girl. After he had thrown down the fat and the tobacco, he threw a piece of copper in front of the chief, and it became a large costly copper. He threw down four pieces. Then he threw two pieces of copper down in front of the chieftainess, and two each in front of the three uncles of the daughter of Chief Peace. When he had done so, Chief Peace said to his attendants, ‘‘ Being down my only daughter, and let her sit by the side of the prince! She shall become his wife.’”’ And the chief invited all his people, and the prince was married to the chief’s daughter. The girl loved him very much, and his father-in-law loved both of them. Sometimes the young man would go to get wood; but his father- in-law would not allow him to get firewood, for he had many slaves to do so. The chief gave to his daughter the two great slaves who had brought the prince to his house to be the slaves of the young couple. One day the prince went around the island crying, for he felt home- sick for his parents. Late in the evening he came back home to his father-in-law’s house, and he went right up to his bed and tay down to weep. Then his beautiful wife came to him and asked him why he was weeping, whether there was anything wrong between them or between him and her father. The man replied, ‘‘No, not so. I am well satisfied with your father’s kindness to me.” Then he told her that he felt homesick for his father and mother at home. The princess did all she could to comfort him. On the following morning his father-in-law said, “Start the fire, slaves!” They lighted the fire. Then he asked his daughter, “‘ What makes my son-in-law so sad this morning?” The young woman replied, ‘‘ He longs for his parents.’’ Then the chief said, ‘‘Oh, it is- nota very long way off. Ishallsend youbacksoon. Early tomorrow morning I shall send my whole tribe out to hunt; and if they are suc- cessful, I shall let you go day after tomorrow, and you will reach home on the following day.” So on the following morning, quite early, all the people of the tribe went out hunting; and when the sun rose in the east, they came home one by one. Some brought whales; others, sea lions, seals, halibut, 50633°—31 eta—16——14 210 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 21 and all kinds of fishes. When they were all at home, they gave the animals and the fishes to their chief; and the chief invited all his people, to tell them that his son-in-law was to leave the following morning for his own native land; and he also said to his daughter, ‘“When you have no food in winter, tell your husband to ask his wood-caryers to make a good long cane six fathoms long of ash. You will need six digging-sticks.1. Also let them make a large board four fathoms long and two fathoms wide.” When the feast was over, the people all went home, and on the following morning they took down two large canoes. Both ends of these canoes were carved in the form of the mouth of an animal, and all the large flat-beamed canoes were carved with figures of otters. Then the people took down to the canoes the whale blubber that they had brought the day before; and when the two canoes were full of whale blubber, the chief took hold of them by the stern and shook them, and the whale blubber decreased in bulk. Then they loaded the canoes with blubber of sea lions; and when they were full, the chief took hold of them by the stern and shook them, and the sea- lion blubber decreased in bulk. Next they loaded them with seal blubber; and when the canoes were full, the chief took hold of them by the stern and shook them, and the seal blubber became less. Then they loaded them with all kinds of fish, and so the canoes were filled with many kinds of fishes. ‘Then the people took down a large board, put it across the two canoes, and spread garments of sea otters over the boards. The two young people were made to sit on these; and the chief said to his daughter, ‘‘My dear, when you hear the thwarts, the stern, or the bow of the canoes creak, or if they stop going, then you must know that they are hungry, and you must feed them with seal blubber. Feed the bow and the stern half a seal each. And when they have eaten your seals, whistle.” After he had given this advice to her, he shook the two large canoes, and he whistled. Then the canoes moved and went on rapidly toward sunrise. They went a long way, then they stopped; and all the thwarts, the bow, and the stern made a great noise. The princess said to her husband, ‘‘Feed them!”’ The prince did so; and soon after he had fed them, he whistled, and they went on. Four times the two canoes rested on their way across the sea. Early on the following morning it was calm and foggy. Then they arrived in front of the village of Metlakahtla; and when the fog vanished, the people of the village came forth, and, behold! the large canoes anchored in front of the village. The village people asked those in the canoes, ‘‘What kind of people are you?”? Soon the young man arose, and said, ‘‘Did not a prince 1 We call this a digging-stick. In those days they were used for digging clams or digging the ground. Tt was a pole sharp at each end. Sometimes they would also kill people with it. A clam-digging stick is not very long, three or four feet, but the chief told him to make it six fathoms long.—HENRY W. TATE Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS a a | go away from home years ago, being angry?’’ Then all the people in the village were full of joy. Some cried, some shouted, and some were amazed. They all went down to the beach to call the canoes ashore; and when they came there, they took the blanket on which the princess was seated and put it down at the edge of low water. Then she stood near the stern of the two canoes, and all the people carried up the fishes from the canoes; and when the fishes were all out, the princess shook the canoes, and they were full of seals, and they carried these up to the chief’s house. When the seals were all out, she shook them again, and they were full of sea-lion blubber, and the people carried this up to another house; and after they were empty of the sea-lon blubber, she shook them again, and they were full of whale blubber, and the people of the village filled another house with the whale blubber. Four houses were filled with pro- visions which they had brought home. After this the young people of the tribe took up the plank; but before the young men took up the plank, the princess shook the stern of the large canoes and whistled, and the canoes went back rapidly to their home out in the ocean. The young men took up the plank with the prince and the princess seated on it, lifting it above their heads, and put it down by the side of the chief’s great fire. The princess Peace Woman wore a large plume behind her ear, and she was always carrying her pretty little root basket from which she drank water. She would not allow any young man to fetch water for her except her husband. As soon as her husband came in from drawing water, she took off the plume and dipped it into the water which her husband had just brought in, and the water dropped down in clear drops. Then she drank it. Now, the former wife of the young man tried in every way to talk to him, but he refused to do so; and his former wife tried to meet him, but the young man would take his son along. Peace Woman loved her husband’s son. Not many days had passed when the people of different tribes gathered to buy food from the prince who had just come back. They brought skins of elk, marten, and sea otter, canoes, raccoon skins, and all kinds of goods to buy provisions, and the young man became rich. Therefore he invited all the tribes and gave a great feast to all the chiefs, and gave away property and food; and he gave a great feast to his own tribe. Then all his goods were gone, and his pro- visions were exhausted. Just before full moon he told his father’s wood-carvers to make six digging-sticks, each six fathoms long. Therefore his six wood- workers went, and each of them made one stick. Late in the even- ing, when they had finished them, they came home. The princess 212 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 examined the sticks that the woodworkers brought. Each had done his very best to make the best stick, and each brought a nicely carved digging-stick into the chief’s house. The princess refused them, but she took the one made of ash. On the following morning some more woodworkers went, five in all. They made five digging-sticks of ash, and carved them as well as they could. They took them to the princess, who examined them. Now she had what she needed. The first time each of the woodworkers had made his digging-stick out of other wood—one of spruce, another of hemlock, another of fir, another of maple, another of yellow cedar. Therefore the princess refused them. They were not strong enough. The six digging-sticks of ash were red and strong and would not break. Early the following morning they arose, and her husband said to his father’s attendants, ‘‘Take my wife down to the low-water line.” Therefore the young men took her down on the same plank on which she had come. She took one of the long digging-sticks and put it down into the sand very deep. She took another one and put it down in the same way as the first one, and she did so with the rest of the six sticks. Then she leaned on the first stick. Behold! there was a large whale pierced through the back by the stick. She went to another one, leaned against it, and it had speared a great sea lion. She went to the next one, leaned on it, and there was a seal; another one, and there was a large halibut; another one, and there was a large red cod; and when she leaned on the last stick, there was a great bullhead. After she had finished, the young men took her up to the house. The people of the whole village carved the great whale and cut off slices of blubber; and they carved the sea lion, seal, halibut, red cod, and bullhead. They carried them into the chief’s house, and three houses were well filled. Then all the tribes of the Tsimshian heard of it, and they all came together to buy food; and the prince sold the whale blubber and the sea-lion blubber and all the large fishes and seals; and when he had finished, his father’s house was full of elk skins and all kinds of goods. On the following morning the young men carried her down again to the low-water line. She was seated on the plank, and other young men took down her digging-sticks. She put the first one very deep into the ground, and then the other ones to the last one. Then Peace Woman went to the first stick, leaned on it, and there was a great whale. She went to the second one, there was another whale, and there was a whale at each of the six digging-sticks. She put down the six digging-sticks again, and another six whales came up. Then she stopped. Now she stood on her board, and pointed out one large whale, which she gave to her father-in-law, and one whale to each of the four brothers of her mother-in-law (that is, to her hus- ee ee eee a Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Dall) band’s uncles), and another one she gave to her mother-in-law, and two whales she gave to her father-in-law’s tribe, and two more to her husband’s tribe, and two whales she gave to her own husband. Now all the people of the two tribes were busy with their own food. Then the people came along to buy provisions. The prince cut one whale and sold it. Another one he cut to be given away to the chiefs of all the Tsimshian tribes. Therefore when the appointed day came, he made a great feast for the chiefs of all the tribes.. He gave away much property, and one large whale which was cut into slices of blubber. Now, one day before evening the princess said to her husband, “Bring me some water!’’ So the prince took her root basket and went. His former wife was sitting by the side of the water, watching him secretly, and as soon as she saw bim coming, she hid in the bushes; and when the young man took the water, she rushed to him from the bushes where she had been hiding, took hold of him, and put both of her hands around his body, saying, ‘‘ What has made your heart hard against me, my dear? Take pity on me! Just say a word to me, and I shall be satisfied.’ The prince tried to escape from her, but she would not let him go. She held him, and finally the young man took pity on her and spoke to her.!. Then the prince washed his water basket and went away quickly. As soon as he came in, his wife took the plume from behind her ear, as she was accustomed to do. She put it down into the water, lifted it up, and, behold! it was full of all kinds of slime. Mierefore she struck her husband in the face, and said, “Although you still love your former wife, yet you come to get me.’”’ She poured out the bad water, arose, and went out. Her husband followed her. She went down to the beach, and her husband went there also. She walked out on the water, and her husband also walked along on the water. The princess was walking on the “belt” of the water.? Together they walked on that line; and when they passed the islands, the princess said to him, “Go back to your former wife, lest T look back and you perish!’ However, the young man followed her, running as fast as he could, and erying piteously as he was running. Often he would try to put his hands around her; but he could not do it, because she had become like unto a cloud. Again and again she said, ‘‘Go back, lest I look back and you perish!” Now, the young man saw the island of Chief Peace’s village far ahead. Again the woman said, “Go back!’ but the man said, ‘No, no, I will not go back, unless you come back with me.” Then the princess looked back at him, and at once he sank down to the bottom of the ocean and died nore Then Peace Woman 1 Original: Su-g-a’wun da sa-qa-g4’ed su-p!a’sEm y!0’eta as nti’at, da wila da’mget wil wa’ldr iS 2 We call ‘“‘belt”’ of the water a line that may be seen on the water when it is very calm.—!ITENRY W. TATE. 214 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ere. ANN. 51 went on weeping until she arrived at her father’s house on the island; and when she came in, she was weeping bitterly. Her father asked her, “‘ Why are you weeping, my dear daughter ?”’ but she did not reply. Again the chief asked her, ‘‘ Where is your husband, my dear daughter?’’ Then she told him that he had died in the sea when she looked back at him. Chief Peace was full of sorrow, because he loved his son-in-law; and after he had cried, he rebuked her for having killed her husband. Therefore he ordered his slaves to take down his long pole with the bag net at one end. They didso. Then he said to his slaves, “Open the privy-hole between the door and the fireplace.’’ They opened it, and the chief took his net-pole, put it down into the hole, and after a while he hauled up thenet. He had caught the backbone of his son-in-law. He let down the net a little longer, and the head came up with the bag net. He put them togetherin their proper places, and then let the net down again, and he caught both arms. He let it down again, and he caught the hands. Again he let it down, and caught the legs. He let it down once more, and he caught the feet. Thus the chief brought up all the members of the body. He put them in their proper places; and when he had put them in order on the wide plank, he leaped over the body of his son-in-law; and after he had done so four times, the prince arose, and the chief gave him again to his daughter. So the young princess was comforted, and she gave a great feast to her people; and she told them how well pleased she was with her husband’s relatives, how her father-in-law loved her as long as she had been with him, and that also her mother-in-law loved her very much, and that the whole family had loved her. Therefore her father, Chief Peace, was glad, and so were all his people. The prince said also, “I will not return to my own home, but I will live here with my wife and with my father-in-law and my mother-in-law.” 29. Suckine INTESTINES! There was a great town at Metlakahtla, the town of the G'i-spa-x- 1a’/°ts, called the Red-Bear Village (Lax-mns-6'l), in which a great chief and chieftainess and the chief’s nephew were living. The young man fell in love with the chieftainess. She loved him very much, and the young man loved her, but the chief did not know about it. The young man often went to her while the chief was away. After a while she was with child, and the chieftaimess resolved that she would pretend to die on behalf of her lover. So they agreed on this plan; and on the following day the chieftainess pretended to be very sick, because she loved the young man better than her husband, and she wanted to marry that young man. She had not been sick many days when she said to her husband, “When I die, bury me in a large box. Do not burn my body, but 1 Notes, pp. 634, 781. —— Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Pilkey put my horn spoon in my coffin, and my marten blanket, and my fish-knife.”’ After a short time she pretended to die. Then the whole tribe of the chief assembled and cried for her. The people made a large box to bury her. They put her into it, with two marten blankets and one sea-otter garment, and also many dozens of beautiful horn spoons, and with her fish-knife. They put the coffin on the tree on the little island in front of the village. Now she pretended to be dead. For two nights the chief went to the little island, and sat right under the coffin in which the chieftainess was lying, and wept. While he was there, he saw grubs falling down from the coffin. Then the chief thought, “Her body is full of grubs,” and this made him ery bitterly; but actually the chieftainess in the coffin was scraping her horn spoon with her fish-knife, and the scrapings of the horn spoon looked just like maggots. As soon as the chieftainess was in the coffin, the young man went to her every night while the village people were all asleep. He went over to the little island, climbed the tree, and kicked the cover off the coffin, saying, ‘‘Let me in, ghost!’’ Then the chieftainess would laugh in her coffin-bed, ‘Ha, ha! in your behalf I am pretending to make grubs out of myself.’’ Then she opened the cover of the coffin. The man went in and lay down with her. The young man always went up to her every night, but the great chief did not know about it. He was still weeping, and no one could comfort him. One night another young man went to the little island where the chieftainess was, and was sitting with his sweetheart under the chief- tainess’s coffin. Then they saw a young man coming to the place where they were. They recognized the chief’s nephew, who climbed up to the chieftainess’s coffin, kicked the cover, and said, ‘‘Let me in, ghost!’ and they heard the chieftainess laugh in her coffin. They heard her reply, “Ha, ha! I am pretending to make grubs out of my- self.’ Then they saw the young man going into the coffin, and they heard them talking in the coffin. Before daylight the chief’s nephew came out of the coffin. Then they told the chief what they had seen; and he sent over his two attendants to watch the chieftainess’s coffin, and he gave them this command: ‘If it is true, throw down the coffin.” Therefore the two attendants went to the island and watched the coffin; and while the people of the village were asleep, they saw a man coming over. They recognized the chief’s nephew. He climbed the tree to where the chieftainess lay; and as soon as he reached the top of the tree, he kicked the coffin, saying, ‘‘Let me in, ghost!”’ and they heard the chieftainess laugh, and reply, ‘Ha, ha! I am pretending to make grubs out of myself on your behalf.’ The attendants heard 216 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ern ANN. 31 them talking in the coffin; and at midnight, when everything was quiet and they knew that they were asleep, they climbed the tree, threw down, the large coffin, and the body of the chieftainess burst, and the chief’s nephew also was killed. When the men came down, they saw a baby boy among the intes- tines of his mother. They went back to the chief’s house and told him that it was true, and they also told him that the child was alive. Then the chief ordered them to bring the child to him, so they brought the child to him. It was sucking the intestines of its mother; therefore its name was Sucking Intestines. Then the chief took a good female slave to be its nurse. The child grew up in the chief’s house, and the chief loved the little boy very much. When he was able to walk, he would go very often to the little island to get chewing- gum from the spruce trees, for he liked chewing-gum very much. He got it from the same spruce tree on which his mother’s coffin had been placed when she pretended to make maggots out of herself. The chief took him over to the island, and burned some gum for him to let the child have the chewing-gum. He did so many times, going with his slaves. One day the boy walked over to the island alone to take gum from the same spruce tree on which his mother’s coffin had been. He liked best to be on the little island where he was born, and played around there almost every day, and the slaves would take him over to the island. He became a beautiful boy, and the chief loved him more and more every day. One day the boy said to his father, ‘‘Let us go to the little island and burn some gum!”’ So the chief went with him, together with some of his slaves. Then the chief ordered his slaves to burn off the gum, and they did so. The chief was sitting near the spruce tree, while the boy stood in front of him. Then a flame of fire, like a tongue, took the boy away from the chief, and the boy was burned to death. The chief mourned again, for the fire had swallowed up the boy. ‘This is the end of Sucking Intestines. Nowadays we still call the little island Where She Pretended To Make Grubs Out Of Herself. 30. Burnina Lreernes AND BuRNING SNOWSHOES! There was a tribe, and a great chief was married to a chieftainess. He loved her very much. After a while he was again in love with a young woman, and he expected her to be his wife. He loved her better than his first wife, and therefore his first wife was very jealous of his new love. The young woman had four brothers who were hunters. Every year they would come down to visit their brother-in-law, and brought with them provisions to their dear sister. Therefore the chief loved 1 Notes, p. 781. boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS SALT them very much. Then his first wife was very jealous of the young woman, and she tried in every way to find fault with her. Finally the young woman gave birth to a boy, and the chief loved her very much. ‘The first wife was still trying to find fault with the young woman. The child was growing up, and began to creep about; and the chief loved the child’s mother because she had borne a child. One day the four brothers came down again to visit their only sister, the chief’s wife, and brought her rich food—dried meat and fat—and the chief welcomed his four brothers-in-law. After they had been there some time, the chief asked the eldest of his brothers- in-law kindly to gamble with him, and they played together on the gambling-mat. The eldest brother took out a small leather bag from his gambling-bag, containing red ocher, which they used in those days to paint their faces. He took it out of his gambling-bag and put it on his face. Now, the first wife of the chief saw this, and she called a slave-girl, and sent to the man who had the red ocher. She asked the slave-girl to tell him that she wanted some of the red ocher, and she promised to meet him behind the house. Therefore the slave-girl went to the eldest brother and told him what the chief- tainess wanted; but the young man said to the slave-girl that he did not want to comply and to do a wrong to his brother-in-law, so the slave-girl went back and repeated to the chieftainess what he had said. The chieftainess sent the slave-girl again to tell him that she wanted some of the red ocher, and that she would meet him outside right away. The slave-girl went again and whispered to the young man, and repeated to him all the chieftainess had said. Then he said, ‘I will give part of the red ocher to her, but I will not meet her;’”’ and he gave half of his red paint to her through the slave-girl. The woman took it, went out, and put the paint on her face. Then she came again, and went to where her husband was sitting with his young wife, in the rear of the house. She said, ‘‘Look here! Look at my face! Your brother-in-law mocked me and just put the red paint on my face.’’* Then the chief became very angry; and he said to his attendants, ‘‘Shut the door, lock it, and slay the four brothers in there, and throw them behind my house, outside.’ Therefore his attendants killed them and threw their bodies behind the chief’s house, as he had ordered them to do. Then the young woman went every morning to mourn for her four dear brothers, and the chief now loved his former wife most. The chieftainess was very glad now, because the chief loved her more than his young wife. The young woman woke up very early, and carried her child along, going behind the chief’s house, where the bodies of her dead brothers were; 1 Original: Nic gwawa’(?) niat am nErEnu(?); at ha-wila’gudi tgu-q!ata’ntk a’nEsgat a k!a’i, am-tla’- tdeda m&s-a’ust @ tsla’lut, ada da’mxdut a gwict. 218 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 and she mourned there until evening every day. She would never eat anything. She did so often. After the chief had killed her brothers, he called all the young men of his tribe into his house, and they had fun in his house every evening. The young men would shout for joy in the chief’s house, while the poor sister was crying every evening over her dear brothers’ bodies. Now, the chieftainess was seated close to the chief when he was sitting in front of the large fire, while the young men were playing at the other side of the fire. One day the chief said to the young men who were playing, ‘‘ When you see that woman (meaning this younger wife) come in tonight, take a cedar-bark rope and trip her, so that she may fall.” Late in the evening she ceased her wailing, and came in at the door with her child on her back. She came in; and when she came close to the cedar-bark rope, the young men held it tight, so that she almost fell over it. Then all the young men shouted and laughed at her, and the chief and his first wife also laughed at her. The poor mourning woman with the child on her back crept to her bed in the corner of the chief’s house. Very early the following morning she went out again, and wailed all day as she had done before. She was almost in despair because they had mocked and laughed at her late in the evening. When she came in late at night, the young man tripped her feet again with the cedar-bark rope, and _ she fell; and they all laughed at her while she crept to her bed, her heart heavy with sorrow. She was weak, for she had not had anything to eat since the time when they had killed her brothers. Early the following morning she went out again. She wished only for one thing; namely, to die. Therefore she went there often. In the evening, as soon as the sun went down, after she had been weeping bitterly all day, she opened her eyes, and there was a flash of lightning. She looked, and, behold! a handsome young man stood by her side, who said to her, ‘‘ What ails you ?””—‘‘O Supernatural One! the reason why I weep is my grief for these, my four slain brothers, whom they have thrown out here. So I go every day to mourn for them; and besides this, they made fun of me, tripping my feet with their cedar- bark rope; and they all laugh at me, by order of my husband, and his chieftainess. Sometimes I am faint with sorrow.” Then the Supernatural One said to her, ‘‘My father the Sun sent me down to find out what has happened. He was displeased to hear your voice every day. Take my leggings and my snowshoes and also my moccasins.”” He made them into one bundle and tied them together. Then he ordered her to throw them down in front of the chief. He continued, ‘‘Then say to him, ‘See what happens to the leggings and snowshoes of those whom you have murdered!’ A Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 219 flash of lightning will proceed from them. Then he will call all of his people into his house to let them know what has become of the leggings, snowshoes, and moccasins of the four brothers whom he had killed a few days before, and to tell them that a flash of lightning had proceeded from them. All his wise men will not be able to understand it; and only one very old man, who lives at the end of the village, and whose name is Disbeliever, will not come when he is called the first time. He is blind, and therefore he can not come. Then the second time the chief will send some young man. I will transform myself into the old man Disbeliever. I shall meet the young man on my way. They will take my hand; and when you see me coming into the house, you must run away, lest you be con- sumed with the rest.’’ Thus spoke the Supernatural One to her. So she took the bundle made of the leggings, the snowshoes, and moccasins, and went in haste before it was dark. The chief heard that his wife had stopped wailing very early, and he wondered about it. Then he told the young men who were playing in his house not to trip her with the cedar-bark rope. When she came in, all the young men were quiet. She walked on straight to her cruel husband, who was seated in the rear of the house, with his first wife leaning against his side, glad and happy. The brave woman went to them and threw the bundle down in front of them, saying, ‘‘See what has hap- pened to the leggings, snowshoes, and moccasins of those whom you have murdered!’’ Then there was a flash of lightning, which fright- ened the chief. He trembled, and said to the young men, ‘‘Call all the people of the village, from the old men down to the small children, and from the old women down to the little girls. Let no one remain outside!”’ Therefore they went around to every house and called all the people, in accordance with the order given by the chief. When all the guests were in, the chief told them what had happened to the leggings and snowshoes of those whom he had slain a few days pre- viously, and he explained to his people what his wife had said when she*threw the bundle down in front of him, and how a flash of light- ning had proceeded from the bundle; and he said to his wise men, ‘Explain to me the meaning of this!”” but nobody could explain it. Some of them did not believe him, and some were astonished; still there remained one very old man, Disbeliever by name, and it occurred to some of them that the old man Disbeliever still remained outside. Therefore the chief sent for him. The young men went to his house and told him what had happened to the leggings, the snow- shoes, and the moccasins of those whom the chief had slain a few days before. Then the oldman laughed, and said that theleggings and snowshoes of the ghosts were becoming a flash of lightning; and he continued to laugh, saying, ‘‘No, no! Never since the world began 920 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 have I heard of such a thing as what you have told me. No, dear, no! I do not believe what you have said.” The young men dis- pleased the old man, who said, ‘‘No, I won’t go there! Nonsense, nonsense! That is all.” They told him that the chief wanted him; but he said, ‘‘No, I will not go. I am not well tonight.”” Therefore they went back to the chief’s house, and they told him that Dis- believer had made fun of them. (The people named the old man Disbeliever because he did not believe what the people would tell him. Therefore they gave him the name Disbeliever.) Therefore the great chief was enraged, and said, ‘‘Bring him in quickly!” The young men went a second time; and while they were on their way, they met him. They asked him, ‘‘Is that you, Disbe- liever ?”’—‘‘ Yes, I was groping my way along.”” They took him by the hand and led him into the house up to the chief and his wife. As soon as the old man came in, the mourning woman took her child on her back and went out unobserved. Now Disbeliever said, ‘‘Let me feel of the bundle!” They took his hands and guided them to where the bundle was. Nobody had touched it before, because they were all afraid lest they should be consumed by the lightning. The chief repeated the words that his wife had said to him. When the old man felt of the bundle, he laughed again, and said, ‘‘I do not believe that the leggings and snowshoes and moccasins of the ghosts became a flash of lightning. I never heard of such a thing happen- ing since the world began. No, no, no!’’ Then he opened the bun- dle, took the leggings by themselves, saying, ‘‘Now, leggings, let a flash of lightning proceed from you!” At the same time he struck the ground with the leggings. He took up the pair of snowshoes and struck the ground with them, and said, ‘‘Now, snowshoes, burn!—Now, moccasins, let flashes of lightning proceed from you! Oh, what nonsense!”’ The chief took a little comfort when the old man took up the leggings. Then the old man put them on. He also put on the snow- shoes, and leaped first before the chief, who was sitting by his side. He struck the snowshoes one against the other, and ran around’the fire that was burning in the center of the house. All of a sudden a flash of lightning proceeded from the leggings and snowshoes and moccasins, and the house and all the people in it were consumed. Not one escaped from it. The woman was sitting where the bodies of her brothers were; and the supernatural being came to her again, and said, “Lay out the bodies of your-brothers in good order.” She did so, and then the supernatural being jumped over the eldest one first. He did so four times, and the eldest one arose. The supernatural being stepped to the second brother and jumped over him four times, then the second brother arose; and the supernatural being did to the third one the a BoAS | TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 221 same as he had done to the two others, and the third one arose; then he stepped to the youngest one and jumped over him four times, and the youngest one arose from where he had been lying dead. The supernatural being wore his own leggings, snowshoes, and moccasins when he jumped over the dead bodies of the four brothers, and so they arose from where they had been lying dead. Therefore the woman was much pleased to see her brothers alive again. She went to the place where the supernatural being stood, but he disappeared from their sight. Then the four brothers went down to the village, accompanying their sister. They saw the desolation of the village. They went to where the great chief's house had stood, and there was only a heap of bones and of ashes on the ground where the people had been assembled in the chief’s house. After they had been there for a while, they started for their own home in the mountains, taking their sister along, and they still live in the mountains. We call their village Ts !rts!a/ut. 31. Hax!uA’@? There was a village way out at sea near the great ocean. In front of the village were two islands. The first one was large, the second one smaller than the first. The first island was the town of the sea otters. The sea otters lived at the foot of the trees on the large island, and so it was on the next smaller island. There were many sea otters on the two islands. Between the two islands a child was floating. So it happened that if any one tried to go to these islands, he saw a beautiful child floating on the water. The canoe went toward it, and they took the child aboard; and whenever they camped on the large island, a monster (Hak!ulé’q) would come out of the water and ask for her child. She would say, ‘‘Who stole my child?”? Then a storm and high waves would strike against the high rocks on that island, and the island would become covered with foam, and the people would die there. The same thing happened for many years, and many people died there generation after generation. The people had no power to kill the monster. The whole village was in mourning, for their young men had almost disappeared. Only old men now re- mained in the village. Two or three canoes were lost every day, of those who tried to Kill the child and the woman but could not do it. 1 Possibly the description of a pantomimic dance given to me at Kinkolith (G-in-g6/lix’), on Nass River, refers to this tale (see Boas 1, 1895, p. 52): ‘‘In one ceremony two men dressed like Ts!Ets!a’ut hunters appear. Suddenly the noise of thunder is heard, and down through the roof comes a person dressed in eagle skins and wearing the mask of the thunderbird. The hunters shoot at the bird. At once there is a flash of lightning and a clap of thunder. One of the men falls dead, and the other one escapes. The fireis extinguished by water which wells up through a tube of kelp that has been laid underground and emptiesinto the fire. At the same time water is thrown on the spectators through the roof. This performance is accompanied by songs of the women, who sit on three platformsin the rear of the house. The song relates 5o the myth which is represented in the performance.” 2 Notes, p. 783. 222 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. Ann. 31 Therefore the whole village assembled to talk about the monster that was destroying all their young men, and they agreed to make war against it. So one day they prepared their weapons, and made ready to go out against the monster and its child. On the following day they went. Part of the people went to battle against the monster, and the rest remained in the village. When the party arrived at the place where the child was floating, they did not find it. So they came to the large island, and there they saw sea otters running about. They hunted them and clubbed a great number. They nearly forgot their grief, because they had slain so many sea otters. It was very calm that day, and before evening they loaded the canoes with the sea otters; and while on their way back home, between the two islands they saw the child floating on the surface of the water. Then a violent man said, ‘I will kill the child to revenge the blood of my relatives!”’ and they all agreed. He took up his spear and thrust his spear right through the heart of the floating child; and when he took the spear from the body, the monster came up from the water, and asked, “‘Who killed my only child?”” The man who had killed it said, “I killed your child, for you destroyed all my family.” Then the monster shouted and cried aloud. A great whirlpool opened and swallowed the canoes. The first canoe went along very fast, so that the whirlpool could not catch it. The crew brought the sad news to the people who remained in the village. Then that part of the people who had remained in the village made ready to fight the monster. On the following day they went; and when they arrived at the same place (that is, between the two islands), they did not see anything on the surface. They went right ahead until they arrived at the large island; and they saw that the land was full of sea otters, but they did not pay any attention to them. They came back soon. On their way back they saw a child floating there. Then the two canoes went on (?), and the two harpooneers took up their spears and thrust them through the body of the child. The monster came up and cried for her child, whose body was torn by the spears. She said in a low voice, “Why did you kill my child?”’ and the harpooneers of the two canoes said, ““Why are you killing all our people? You have killed the greater part of our tribe.” Then she shouted as loud as the rolling thunder. A whirlpool opened and drew in the canoes, but the two canoes the harpooneers of which had the child’s body at the end of their spears could not be swallowed by the whirlpool. Then the monster seized the bow of each canoe and took them down to the bottom of the sea and destroyed them all. Now only one young chief remained in the village, with his two nephews and his niece and the mother of these two young people. The young chief thought how he could overcome the monster of the sea. One day he said to his two nephews, ‘Let us build a good swift ROAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 923 canoe, and let us try all kinds of trees!’’ and when he was cutting down the tree, two young men, who were also his nephews, came to him. Now there were four young men, two women, and the chief. They made a good-sized canoe; and when it was finished, they steamed it, and it was very good. Therefore they took it down, and went in it against the rolling waves. They were paddling hard, and the canoe was broken by the waves. They went home, broke it all to pieces, and threw the pieces into the fire. Then they made another canoe of a spruce tree. It was better than the one they had built before. When it was finished, the chief went to testit on the sea. They went out; and while they were on the sea, they went against the rolling waves made by a great storm. The waves struck the canoe, and soon it broke. They went home and broke it all to pieces. Then they made a new canoe of yellow cedar, better than the one they had built before. When they had finished it, they took it down, and went again against strong winds which raised moun- tainous waves. They struck it and broke it. Then they went home, broke it to pieces, and threw the pieces into the fire. The chief tried all kinds of trees. Last of all he tried the yew tree, whose wood is very strong and hard. They built a better canoe than any of those before; and when they had finished it, they tested it on the stormy sea. Then they came back home safely. Then the young chief. ordered his four nephews to gather all kinds of food. On the following day he loaded his strong canoe with all kinds of provisions, and they started. The young women were with them. Their yew canoe was faster than a flymg bird. They went along between the two islands, and soon they arrived at the place where the floating child was. Then the young chief said, “Just pass close by the floating child!” They did as the chief had ordered them; and when they were passing near by, the chief took the child’s foot into the canoe, and said to his companions, ‘‘ Pull hard!” and they paddled as hard as they could, and reached the first island. Then they hauled up their canoe right in the woods, with the child and everything in it. As soon as they had carried up their canoe, the monster came out of the water in front of them, and said, ‘‘Give me my child!” The chief replied, ‘‘Where are all my people whom you destroyed? I will not let your child go.” The monster woman said, ‘‘Give my child back to me, or I will overturn the island on which you camp.” The young chief replied, ‘‘Where are all my people whom you have destroyed ?” In the night the island rolled over and over slowly; but they all went aboard their canoe, and the canoe floated above the island. On the following morning, when the rolling of the island ceased, the 224 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 canoe rested on top of it; but all the trees of the island were swept away, and nothing but bare rock remained. There was no. way to escape from the island. The monster was still pleading for her child, but the young chief continued to ask for his people. Not many days passed before the child died. Then the monster woman stopped asking for her child. The young chief was still on the island, and he was there for a long time with his companions. The chief still counted the days of his work. One night about midnight the eldest one of the young men com- pelled his sister to have intercourse with him. The next morning she asked him to go with her to the beach. There the young woman took the skin of a white weasel and tied it on the back of the head of her brother. She said to him, ‘‘Go on and fly out to sea, that all the people may see you!’’ For that reason the male sawbill duck is white on the back of its head. When the days that the young chief had counted were at an end, he said to his nephews, ‘‘Let us try to go to our empty village!”’ Therefore they let their canoe slide down on the side of the rock; and as soon as they reached the water, they paddled away hard. Soon they saw the monster sound asleep floating on the sea at the same place where the child had been floating. Therefore the har- pooneer said to his companions, ‘‘I will take her into my canoe.” They went toward her, and the chief took her by the tail and threw her into the canoe. Then they pulled away as hard as they could; and when they had gone a short distance, the great whirlpool opened behind their swift canoe, but they paddled away to the shore. Soon they came to their old village. As soon as they arrived there, the monster woman died. They took her ashore, and the dead child. They took her into the house with her child and hung them up inside, one on each post. On the following day they all went aboard again and went to their village. Then the whole village was astir, and the chief invited them into his house; and when they were all in, the chief of the village let the people dance and served his guests with food. After they had eaten, the eldest nephew of the chief said that his uncle wanted to marry one of the village chief’s relatives. The latter invited his people to tell them what the young chief said. Then the old people of the vil- lage chose one of the old chief’s nieces, a good-looking young princess. They gave her to the young chief to be his wife, and the whole village gave him all kinds of food, costly coppers, and elk skins. Then they went home to their own village. The three nephews of the young chief wanted to take wives in the same village; and one day they went to the same village where the uncle had married, and they presented to the uncle of the young chief’s wife and to all her relatives the skin (?) of the child of the ———— ———— BOAS| TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 925 sea monster, and he gave his wife’s uncle the yew-wood canoe, and he gave to her father many costly coppers. He also gave presents to all the relatives of his wife. Then all his nephews married there, too, and his niece married the old chief’s son, and thus the empty village was peopled again. The young chief took the monster woman for his crest. He killed the two monsters, and the island was free to those who wanted to hunt sea otters. Therefore the young chief became great among his people. 32. THE Prince Wuo Was DEsERTED! Once upon a time there was a great town of the G:id-wul-g°4’dz tribe between Metlakahtla and Port Simpson, where there is a great sandbar in front of Kumalgo. There was a great chief there, and his four brothers-in-law. He had an only son. The prince did not eat, but was only chewing dried kidney fat. He was sitting on top of his father’s house, and made arrows all the time. He did so every day; and when the humpback salmon arrived in the rivers, his father’s people went everywhere to catch salmon, and dried them for winter use. The prince and his little slave also went to the little rivers in the great bay, and caught many humpback salmon and took them home. They unloaded the canoe on the sandbar in front of the village, and in the morning the eagles would gather and eat all the humpback salmon. He did so the whole summer; and when the eagles were fat, their feathers dropped out on the sandbar, and the prince sent down his little slave to gather the eagle feathers. The little slave went down and brought to his young master the eagle feathers, and the prince was very glad. He liked to feed the eagles with the salmon, because he wanted their feathers. He made many boxes full of arrows; and he used the eagle feathers, which he fastened to the shaft, so that the arrows were very swift. Now the salmon-run was over. Summer had passed, and winter came, and the people had used up all their salmon, and all the dif- ferent kinds of food were nearly gone. Then the prince’s father, the chief, was much displeased with his son because he had fed the eagles in the summer during the salmon-run. Therefore the great chief sent his wife to his four brothers-in-law. He gave them this advice: “Let none of my sons’ uncles take pity on him when he comes to their house, starving and hungry, for he has always been feeding the eagles during the past summer. Let the eagles feed him now!” Thus spoke the chief to his wife. Therefore his wife went to her eldest brother’s house, and she told him what her husband had said. Then her eldest brother said, ‘‘I will do so.”” She went to her second brother and told him what her husband had said. She went into the house of the third and fourth brothers and told them the same. 1 Nene p. 783. 50633°—31 Era—16——15 226 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Every morning during this hard winter the great chief said to his own nephews, ‘‘ Wake up and make a fire!”’ Then all the people in his house arose, and would sit around the fire. They ate little food, but his son was sitting there just chewing a little fat which he held in his mouth. His parents did not give him even a little food, because his father was angry. One day the prince felt sad on account of what his father and mother were doing to him. Almost every morning his father said to him, ‘““My son, go and feed the eagles with your salmon!” The young man was always crying. Therefore he went to his eldest uncle’s house. As soon as he entered, his uncle said to his young men, ‘Spread the mats by the side of the fire!” They did so. ‘‘Now let mynephewsit on them!” Hesaid to his wife, ‘‘ Now feed mynephew!” So his wife took a nice dried salmon, roasted it by the fire, cut it, put it into a wooden dish, and the young men placed the dish before the prince. Then his uncle arose from his seat; and when the young prince stretched his hand toward the dish to take the roasted salmon, the chief took the dish with the roasted salmon away from him, and said, ‘‘Oh, let those eagles that you fed last summer feed you now!” Then he ate it with his wife. Therefore the young man was very much ashamed on account of what his eldest uncle had done to him. He went out crying and sad. On the following day he went to his second uncle’s house; and as soon as he entered, his uncle said to his young men, ‘‘Spread the mats alongside of the fire!” They did so. His wife roasted a salmon, cut it and put it into a dish, and placed it in front of her nephew; but before the prince could take the salmon, his uncle took it away from him, and said, ‘‘Oho! this one who fed the eagles shall not eat this good salmon.” He ate it with his wife. Then the prince was very much ashamed, and went out crying. On the following morning he went to his third uncle’s house, sat down on one side of the fire, and his uncle’s wife roasted a dried salmon. After she had cut it, she put it into a wooden dish and placed it in front of the young man; but before he could take the dish, his uncle took it away, and said, ‘‘Oho! this one who fed the eagles shall not eat this good salmon.’”’ Then the boy went out crying bitterly. He lay down on his bed and cried the whole night. The following morning he went to his youngest uncle’s house. As soon as he entered, his youngest uncle said to his men, ‘‘Spread the mats alongside of the fire!” They did as he had ordered them. His youngest uncle was crying with his wife while his nephew was sitting there. When they stopped crying, he said to his nephew, ‘“‘T have heard what these bad men have done to you. Your mother came here the other day, and told us that your father wanted us to treat you badly. That is the reason why they ill-treated you; but I do Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 927 not want to treat you that way.” After he had spoken thus, he asked his wife to roast a salmon. She roasted it and placed it in front of him; but he did not take it at once, because he thought they would take it away from him. But his uncle said; ‘‘Kat the salmon, my dear nephew!” So he took it and ate, and they gave him many kinds of food. At midnight he went home well satisfied. Early the next morning his father said to his slave, ‘‘Go out and order the people to move up to Nass River!” Then the great slave ran out and shouted, ‘‘Move away tomorrow, great tribe!” The people made ready to move, and on the following morning they left the chief’s son by order of the great chief. His youngest uncle’s wife left one dried spring salmon and a bucket of crabapples and his little slave with him. They also left all his boxes of arrows with him, and some fire and half a small bucketful of grease. Now his people started and went to Nass River. When all the people had gone away, the prince gathered some old boards and pieces of cedar bark. With these he built a small house. He gave the little slave a little salmon and crabapples mixed with grease. Early every morning he went out and made more arrows, and would sit outside the house. The tide was very low, and then he saw an eagle that screeched on the beach. He called his little slave. ‘‘Go down to the beach and see why the eagle is screeching there!’ So the slave went down to where the eagle was sitting; and when he reached the place, the eagle flew away. Behold! a trout lay on the beach. Then he shouted with all his might, and said, ‘“‘There is a trout here, my dear!” So the prince said, ‘Take it up!” The slave carried it up to the prince, who ordered him to roast it. The slave roasted it; and when it was done, he said to his little slave, ‘Eat it all!’ The slave did so. Early the next morning the prince went out again and saw many eagles that were screeching on the beach. He sent his slave down. The slave ran down, and, behold! a large bullhead was lying on the sand. He shouted again, and said, ‘‘There is a large bullhead here, my dear!” The prince said, “Bring it up here!” The slave took it up, and they steamed it in a hole in the ground. The little slave ate of it, but the prince did not eat any. For several days the eagle gave them trout and bullheads, which they dried. Then they had enough to eat. One morning he went out again, and he saw many eagles come down on the beach, where they were screeching. He sent his little slave down. He ran down again to look, and, behold! a silver salmon was on the sand. Again he shouted, and said, ‘‘There is a silver salmon, my dear!” The prince ordered him to take it, and he carried it up. The prince cut it and roasted it and ate a little. They did so for several days, and they dried the salmon. 228 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [urH. ANN, 31 On the following day the prince went out again, and he heard the eagles screaming on the beach. He sent his little slave down. The slave ran down, and, behold! a large spring salmon was on the sand. The slave shouted, and said, ‘‘There is a large spring salmon!” «The prince said, ‘‘Take it, take it!” So the slave took it up. It was very heavy; and when he was halfway up, the prince went down to help him carry it. The prince split it and dried it. They did so for many days, and his house was full of dried fish. Another morning he went out, as usual. Behold! there were many eagles down on the beach. Hesent hisslave down, and, behold! there was a great halibut on the sand. The slave shouted, and said, “There is a large halibut here, my dear!’ The prince said, “Take it!” but he could not drag it along. When he told the prince that he could not drag it, the prince himself went down, and he dragged it up. He cut it and dried it. Another morning the prince went out, and he heard the eagles screeching on the beach. There were a great many eagles there. So he sent down his slave; and when the slave came, he saw a seal. Then the slave shouted, ‘‘ Here is a great seal on the beach, my dear!” The prince said, ‘Take it!’ The slave could not carry it, and so the prince went down and dragged the seal up to his camp. He cut it and dried it. Now one house was full of all kinds of fish. Because the prince had fed the eagles the past summer, they now gave him this food. They did so many days, and every day a seal was on the beach. He dried them all. One morning the prince went out, and, behold! there were many eagles down on the beach. He sent his slave down; and when he came there, behold! a large sea lion was there. He shouted with all his might, ‘Here is a great sea lion, my dear!’ and when the prince heard that there was a sea lion, he went into the woods, took cedar twigs, twisted them, and joined them together; and when he had thus made a rope, he went down and tied the large sea lion to the shore; and when the tide rose, he and his slave hauled it up on shore; and when the tide turned, it was on the beach. The prince carved it and dried it. Now one house was full of dried seal meat, and he had another house full of sea-lion meat. The sea lions are very large and have much meat and fat. They did so many days, and two houses were full of sea-lion meat and fat. Now the people who had left him were dying of starvation on Nass River; for no olachen had come, and they had no food. Another morning the prince went out again, and there was a great number of eagles far out on the water. They were flying ashore with a great whale, and they landed there. Therefore the prince and his slave went into the woods and took many cedar twigs, which they twisted the whole day long. They tied the great whale to the BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 229 shore. On the following day they cut the blubber and carried it into a large house. They filled three houses with it, because the whale was very large. They did so several days. Now they had ten great whales. They had cut six whales, and four remained on the beach. The prince went out, walking around the whole village. All the houses were full of blubber. He was thinking of his uncle who had pitied him while he was hungry. Therefore he called a gull and asked it to let him have its skin. So the gull lent him its skin. He put it on and took a small piece of boiled seal meat and flew away to Nass River. When he arrived there, he saw many canoes trying to catch olachen with their bag nets, but they could not catch many. The prince flew over the canoes, trying to find one of his relatives among the canoes. At last he discovered his father’s slaves in one of the canoes. He flew over it. A slave-woman was sitting in the stern, while her husband and others were managing the nets. The gull was flying over her head, and dropped down a piece of seal meat to her. The slave-woman took it and put it into her glove, and she then saw the gull fly away down river until she lost sight of it. In the evening, when the fishermen came home, and when all the people were in bed (the slave families live in one corner), the slave- woman told her husband that the gull dropped a piece of half-dried seal meat to the place where she was sitting in the canoe. Therefore the man had a little of the seal. She also had a little, and gave the greater piece to her child. The child was glad to get the seal, and swallowed it and choked. The child almost died because he swallowed it whole; and the child’s mother put her fingers into the child’s mouth, trying to take the piece of seal meat that was choking the child, but she could not do so, beeause she had short fingers. Therefore the chieftainess inquired what was the matter with-the child. The slave said, ‘“We do not know.”’ The chieftainess said, ‘‘Bring the child here to the light of the fire, so that I may know!”’ They did so, and she said, ““Something obstructs its breath.” Therefore the chief- tainess put her long fingers into its mouth, and she felt something. She took out the piece of boiled seal meat. Behold! there was a piece of seal meat. Then she asked the slaves where they had gotten it, and she told her husband the chief about it. Therefore the chief asked the slaves where they had obtained the dried seal meat, and the mother of the child told the chief how the gull had dropped the piece of seal meat into the canoe while they were out fishing. The chief asked, furthermore, ‘‘Where did the gull go after it had dropped the seal into the canoe ?”’ and the slave-woman said, “It went straight down river.” Therefore the great chief said, ‘‘Call all the wise men, and I will ask them what they think.” So the great slave called all the old 230 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 men to the chief's house. He asked for their opinion, and they said, “We believe that your son must have been successful.’ Therefore the chief wanted to send a canoe on the next day to look for him. On the following morning they started, and before evening they arrived in front of Port Simpson. Behold! the surface of the water was covered with grease. They paddled along, and when they came to the place where they had left the prince, they went ashore. Behold! they saw a great many bones on the beach; and the sand smelled of grease in front of the old village; and the houses were full of dried salmon, halibut, dried seals, sea lions, whale blubber; and four great whales were on the beach. They were surprised, and wondered on account of all the prince had done. When the prince saw the canoe coming to his town, he went out, and would not allow them to come ashore; but they asked him to take pity on them. So after a little while they landed. Then they ate dried salmon, dried halibut, dried seal meat, dried sea-lion meat, and whale blubber; and when they all had had enough, the prince ordered them, and said, ‘‘Don’t tell my father that I have plenty to eat! Tell him that I died long ago; but I want you to stay here two days and eat as much as you can, but don’t take anything home with you. Tell my youngest uncle that I want him to come home soon. I will give him one great whale that is lying here on the beach; but I don’t want my father and my mother here, nor my three elder uncles, who made fun of me at the time of the famine, nor any of my father’s people; but I want all the different tribes to buy my provisions which you see in all these houses.”’ Then he sent them back; and when they arrived at home on Nass River, the slaves landed in the evening. They went up to the house of their master. The chief asked them, ‘‘Is my son still alive?” They replied, ‘‘Yes, he is still alive;” and the slaves said further- more, ‘‘Your son, whom you deserted there, has plenty to eat. There is no room for all the meat and fat, for the dried trout, salmon, spring salmon, seal, sea lion, and dried halibut. Many houses are full of whale blubber, and all the houses are full of meat and of fish as well, and four great whales are on the shore, and a great many boxes are full of grease, and the whole surface of the water is covered with grease. The prince has succeeded in getting all these pro- visions, and he does not want to see you or his mother, only his youngest uncle. He asked him to come down to him, and he will give him one great whale. He does not want his three elder uncles and all your people, but he ordered me to tell all the different tribes to buy his provisions.” Then the chief and his wife could not sleep that night. Early the following morning the chief said to his great slave, ‘‘Order the people to return to our old town where we deserted our prince. Then we noas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Dot will ask him to take pity on us, lest we die of starvation.” There- fore the great slave ran out and cried, ‘‘Return to the old town, great tribe! Move by tomorrow, for our great prince has plenty to eat in our old village.” Early the following morning the chief and all his brothers-in-law and all his people moved, and returned from Nass River to the old village at Sandbar Town. Then the eldest uncle dressed up his two daughters. He placed them on a box in his canoe, for he thought his nephew would marry them. All the people paddled as hard as they could; and when they arrived in front of Port Simpson, behold! they saw that grease covered the water; and one of the young women stretched out her hand and dipped her fingers into the grease and ate it. The youngest uncle was behind the other canoes. One day about noon the prince saw a great many canoes approach- ing. Then he went out and asked them, ‘‘Where do you come from?’ They replied, ‘‘Your father and all your uncles are here, and your father’s people.”’ Again he asked them, ‘‘Who told you to come?’’ and they all remained silent. Again he said, ‘‘Don’t come ashore, or I shall shoot you with my arrows! Get away from here and leave me alone to starve!” Then all the people pleaded with him, and he took pity on them. He asked them again, ‘‘Where is my beloved youngest uncle?” They replied that he was far behind. The prince did not allow them to land until his youngest uncle came. All the canoes anchored in front of the old village. It was late in the evening when the youngest uncle came. He landed, but the prince refused to let the others come ashore until the following morning. He pointed out one of the great whales, and gave it to his youngest uncle, who gave his beautiful daughter to his nephew to be his wife. On the following morning the prince went out and called the people ashore. When the canoe of his eldest uncle was near the shore, the two girls dipped their hands into the water to eat the grease that was floating on it. Therefore the prince was very much ashamed. He did not want to see them. He cut one of the whales, and gave one-half to his father, and one-half to his eldest uncle. He cut another one, and gave one-half to his second uncle, and one-half to his third uncle. Then he opened his storehouse of blubber, and gave one piece of blubber to each man and each woman, and he gave small pieces to the children. He invited them to come to his house to his marriage. He loved his wife very much. On the following day all the tribes came to buy provisions. They bought them with elk skins; and some chiefs of various tribes bought them with slaves, canoes, and costly abalone shells, and with many 232 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prn. ANN. 31 hundred score of dried raccoon skins, sea-otter skins, marten skins, dancing-blankets, and all kinds of goods. When he was richer than all the chiefs, he invited the chiefs of all the tribes and made a great potlatch and took his new name, Hasdii, which means ‘‘craving food.”” He gave away many elk skins, slaves, marten blankets, dancing-blankets, horn spoons, abalone shells, and rings of killer- whale teeth, and he became a great chief among the Tsimshian, and his wealth increased more and more. Again he gave a great feast and invited all the chiefs, more than he had done before. When all the chiefs were in his house, he took ten costly coppers, ten large canoes, fourscore and ten slaves, elk skins, twenty score of sea-otter garments, marten garments, dancing- blankets, and many horn spoons and horn dippers, and many costly abalone shells, and earrings of killer-whale teeth, and many boxes of grease and crabapples mixed with grease, and all kinds of pro- visions. Before he gave away all of this, he took one of the costly coppers. They placed it on his chest, and he took his new name, Deserted One. After that they proclaimed his new name. Then he took the costly coppers and gave one to each chief, and he gave away the rest of his goods. All the princes of the various tribes received gifts from him, and all the chieftainesses received horn spoons and horn dippers, costly abalone shells, ear-ornaments of killer-whale teeth, and so on. And as long as he lived, the eagles gave him whales, sea otters, sea lions, seals, spring salmon, halibut, and all kinds of fresh fish. His fame spread all over the country in those days, and he became greater and greater until his life ended. 33. Tue Princess AND THE Mouse! It was soon after the Deluge. A new town was built in the same place where the old town had been before the Deluge, and the people grew up and became numerous in the same town at Prairie Town. They had a great chief who had a beautiful daughter. Her mother and her father loved her very much. ‘The girl grew up, and many princes wanted to marry her; but her parents refused them, for the chief wanted his daughter to marry a high prince. The chief watched her in the night, lest some one visit her. Her father made her bed above his own bed. She went up early every evening, and woke up late every morning, as her parents ordered her to do. When she wanted to take a walk in her father’s village, she invited some young women to walk with her. She did so once every year. The name of this girl’s mother was Gundax, and her own name was Su-da’*t. Thus many years passed. One night the princess felt that some one came to her, and she saw a young man by her side. Before day- 1 Notes, pp. 747, 791. gmat acm eee camel aaa titan Tat ae Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 233 break the young man went out, and the princess staid in bed until very late. The following night the young man came again, and she loved him very much. Every night he came to her. One night it occurred to the young princess that she wanted to know who the young man was who came to her every night. There- fore she watched him early in the morning; and when the young man arose, he was transformed into a mouse, which went through the knot-hole above her bed. ‘Then she felt very much troubled. She was with child; and when her time came, her father asked his wife the name of the man who had been with his daughter. Her mother asked the young woman, but she did not tell her. Therefore her father invited all the best woodworkers and told them to make a box. They did so, and calked it with gum. When they had finished it, they brought it to the chief. The chief ordered his attendants to take it down to the bank of the river. Then the great chief told his men to bring down all his wealth; and they brought down ten costly coppers and many elk skins, marten blankets, and all kinds of expensive garments. They put the costly coppers in the bottom of the box, and spread over them elk skins and marten garments, and skins of many other animals. Then they put the princess into the box and tied it up, by order of the great chief, and they threw her into the river, and the strong cur- rent took the box down the river. The great chief was very much ashamed on account of what his only daughter had done. Then the whole village mourned for the young princess. Now the box drifted down river to the sea. The young woman was still alive in the box. For many days she floated on the water. One day the young woman felt that her box was being moved by great waves. She felt it going up and down the great waves on a sandy beach, and soon she felt that her box struck the ground. Now another noble family was encamped on this sandbar on Queen Charlotte Islands. This family had lost the young daughter not many days before, and the great chieftamess was mourning for her day by day. Early in the morning the chieftainess went out walking along the beach; and when.she came round the sandy point, she sat down there, weeping; and while she was sitting there weeping, when she opened her eyes, she beheld a large object just under high-water mark. She stopped crying and went down to the place where the large object lay; and when she came to it, she recognized a large bundle of goods. She went back to her husband without touching the large bundle, and she said that she had found a large bundle on the beach. They ran down together; and when they came to the place, they saw elk skins around it. They took their knives and cut the thongs with which it was tied. Then something moved inside. They opened the skins one by one; and as soon as the last one was off, many mice ran out of the bundle to the shore. 234 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Then the chief and his wife ran back full of fear; but as soon as all the mice were out, they saw a lovely princess lying in there. She smiled when she saw the two people standing over her. Therefore they said, ‘‘This is our daughter that was dead. She has come back to life.”” So they took her to their camp and carried up the costly things. They found costly coppers in the bottom of the box. Now the noble family was very happy because they had found again their beloved daughter. They loved her very much. The chief invited all the chiefs on Queen Charlotte Islands, and he gave his newly-found daughter the name of his late daughter. The chief had a nephew, a very excellent young man. Therefore the chief’s nephew wanted to marry his uncle’s daughter. Now we will turn to the mice. The many mice were the children of the young woman, which she had from her sweetheart in her father’s house at the head of Skeena River. Now her cousin married her on Queen Charlotte Islands, and she had a son, whom she called Yoihetk; and another son was born to her, whom she called Gamalukt; and still another son was born to her, whom she called Gayaa. Then the chief, the father of the young woman, who had found her on the sand beach, died; and after the chief had died, another son was born to her, and she called him Bax- gwan. Not very long after this the wife of the chief also died, when she was very old. Then another child was born to her, whom she called Su-da’°l. Now these children were growing up together. The young- est children were playing about in the house, while the mother of these children’s father was sitting by the fire. Then one of the little chil- dren fell against her grandmother’s back, so that she fell to the ground by the fire. As soon as she opened her eyes, she scolded her grandchildren, and said, ‘‘Nobody knows your family. You come from a country far away, you foolish, common people!” All these children were of a noble family, therefore their mother had given them noble names. The children cried, and their mother asked them what had happened. Then the elder girl told her mother what their grandmother had said to them, and the young woman went out and cried in the woods behind the house late in the evening; and the young mother came in again when her eldest son came home from hunting. He asked her what made her so sad, and his mother told him what his grandmother had said to his younger sisters. Then the young man questioned her further, and his mother told her story. She said to him, ‘‘This is not our tribe. Our people live far away at the head of a great river. Our family is a noble family in a large town, where there are many people, and your grandfather’s house is in the center of the town. It is a large carved house, and my uncle’s houses are on each side of my father’s house. I want you to go back BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Q30 to my country and to my people. Take all your brothers and your two sisters with you!”’ The eldest son agreed to do what his mother said. Therefore he asked his father to make for him a good-sized canoe. His father did as his son had requested. He made a very good canoe for him; and after the canoe was finished, they made ready to go. The father of the children was very sorry to know that all his children were going to leave him. Before they set out, their mother took them to the sandbar at Rose Point. She pointed with her finger a little south of sunrise, and said, ‘‘Keep the head of your canoe in this direction; and when you reach the mouth of a great river, make a pole with which to punt up the river; and after you have passed a great canyon up river, you will reach a great town. That is the town of your relatives.” Soon after she had given them this advice, the children started across the sea. For two days they paddled across the strait. Then they came to a passage between two large islands. They still kept the head of the canoe a little south of sunrise, and then they arrived at the mouth of a great river which had been unknown to them before. They did as their mother had commanded them; and when they camped in a certain place, they prepared a pole to use on the river. On the following morning they started again, going up the river. Their father had loaded their canoe with meat of seals, sea lions, halibut, and all kinds of sea animals, also with shellfish. They went up the river day after day. Now they arrived at a large canyon, as their mother had told them, and after four days they had passed through the canyon. Another day passed, and they saw a large town before them. Toward evening they arrived below the large town and camped there; and before they walked up on the trail that led up to the town, they turned their good canoe upside down, and it was transformed into a little hill, and all the animals were changed into stones, which are there up to this day. In the evening they walked up to the village, at the time when all the young people of the village were walking on the street. Then this noble family walked up and down, and nobody knew who these strangers were. They saw a large house in the center of the town, and their mother had told them that this was their grandfather’s house. They met a young man, whom they asked, ‘‘To whom does this large house belong?”” The young man told them that it was a great chief’s house. The eldest son understood the language of his mother, while the rest used the Haida language. Then the young man ran into the chief’s house and told him that some strangers were standing outside—four young men and two young women. There- fore the chief sent four of his young men to call them in. The mes- senger went out on the street and told them that the chief invited them to come in. Then the chief ordered his men to spread a good 236 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pTH. ANN. 31 mat by the side of his large fire, and they sat down there. Then the eldest son inquired if a chief of this town had cast out his daughter years ago on the river, and the new chief remembered that his uncle had east out his only daughter on the river years ago. Therefore they said, ‘‘Yes, we do remember it.’’ Then the eldest son said, ‘‘We are her children.” The whole village was astir that night, and the new chief invited all the old men, and he told them that these four princes and two princesses were the grandchildren of his late uncle. The wise men asked the princes for their names, and the eldest one told them his own name, Yoihetk; the second brother’s name, Gamalukt; the third brother’s name, Gayaa; the fourth one’s, Bax-gwan; the elder girl’s name, Gundax; and the younger girl’s name, Su-da’%l. He told them that their mother had giventhem these names. Then all the wise men received them gladly. They lived in their grandfather’s house, and all the people loved them very much. Now we will turn again to the mother of the young princes and of the princesses on Queen Charlotte Islands. As soon as her children had gone away, she went into the woods weeping. She wandered away. While she was walking in the woods, she came upon a narrow trail. There she met some young people, good-looking young people, who asked her, ‘‘Why are you so sad?’’ She told them what had happened to all her children. She said, ‘‘All my children have gone to our old home, and I am left alone in this strange land, without relatives. I have only my husband.” Therefore these young people said, ‘‘We are your children, too. Don’t be so sorrowful! Come with us to our house, and you shall see how many children you have with you in this strange country!” Therefore the woman went with them. They came to a large town, and crowds of people assembled around her. When all the people had assembled, one of them spoke: ‘‘Now, my dear mother, we all are your children. Our old grandfather cast you into the river, and us too. Therefore we are here.. We can not go back to our own native country, therefore we built a town here. You shall stay with us here, for you brought us to this side. We will keep you as long as you live.” The woman, however, wanted to bring her husband with her, but they would not allow it. Then the woman agreed to their request. This town was the town of the many Mice—the children of the woman and her Mouse lover, who came to her in her father’s house in her native land, when she was young. Now they had a dance in their house to comfort their mother, and they danced day by day. Soon after their meal every morning they would dance. One day the husband of this woman went into the woods to search for his wife, but he could not find her. He went on day after day. NN eeEEEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEeEE Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 237 One day the woman went back of her children’s town to refresh her- self, as she used to do every day. Then she thought that she heard _ alow moan a little distance away, that called her name. She recog- nized her husband’s voice, and went toward the voice secretly. She heard him, and then she called him to come. He embraced her, but his wife told him her whole story, and said that her children were dancing. So the man was very anxious to see the dance. She hastened to go home. Her husband would not let her go, but asked her to come back to his own home, but she would not go. She said, ‘‘Go away, for my children will kill you! They will soon come to look for me.”’ The man, however, still held her in his arms. At last four young men came to call their mother to the house. They saw the man with their mother, and they said that they must kill him. But their mother said, ‘‘Not so, my children! Be kind to him. He is my husband. He is like your father. He wishes very much to see your dance.” Then they agreed to their mother’s request. They said, ‘‘We will allow him four days in our midst. Then he must go away to his own house.”” Evening came, and they began to dance until late at night. Thus this man learned their song and the dances that they had. The whole village was asleep in the daytime; but before dusk they awoke, took their meal, and after they had eaten they began to dance. All the people of the village came to the house where their mother was, and danced there all night until daybreak. At the end of four days they sent the man back to his own home, and they said, ‘‘ After four days more we shall send our mother back to you;” and the Chief Mouse commanded him: ‘‘Don’t maltreat any mouse when you human beings see one on your way or in your house, lest you be beset by dangers, for all the mice on this island are of noble blood. Therefore if any human being does something bad to a mouse, we shall kill him. I will give you a dancing-feather, a neck- band, and a skin drum. Then you shall teach your people how to dance.” As soon as the Chief Mouse had spoken, the man left and went to his own home. Then all his people came to him into his house, and the man taught them his song. When all his people knew how to sing this song, he put on his eagle feather and his necklace, then he began to dance; and all his people came to see him—men, women, and children—and everybody was delighted to see this dance. At the end of four days the wife also came. She was a good singer, therefore all the women stood around her to learn her songs, and she taught them. Thus all the different villages on Queen Charlotte Islands learned how to dance, because the Mouse taught them. When the chiefs of all the tribes assembled at a dance in a chief’s 238 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 town, the singers assembled in his house. Thus the chief became the head of his people, and they had dances all the time. That is the end. 34. THe Youne CuieF Wuo Marrirp His Cousin! There was the town of G'it-qxa‘la, and the great chief there had a beautiful daughter. He had also a nephew who was to succeed to his place when he himself should die. This young chief was very wealthy, because he was a good hunter. The young chief wanted to marry his uncle’s daughter. The great chief agreed, and one day he married her. The young woman loved him very much, and he also loved her very much. A year passed after they had married, and the young chief wanted to take another princess to be his wife, for in olden times it was the custom of chiefs to have many wives. So it was with this young chief. But his former wife did not want to let her husband take another wife beside her. The young chief, however, wanted to follow the chiefs’ custom to have many wives, and therefore he married the other princess; and when he had his new wife, he still loved his own cousin, but she becamé sadder and sadder day by day. The young chief told her that he loved her more than his new wife, but she was sad, and her husband said, ‘‘I love you with all my life.” She, however, did not listen to him; and after midwinter, when all the people moved to the fishing-ground, the young chief also moved. He took his two wives in his canoe, and his uncles moved with them in his own canoe. They were there on the fishing-ground. The young chief built his own new house, and his father-in-law lived in his old house. The young princess was still sad. She always went to her father’s house; and when the young chief’s slaves would bring salmon to the young chief, he would divide it between his two wives; but his first wife did not take hers because she was jealous, and she always went to her father’s people to ask for salmon; and she took them to her parents, and her mother dried them for her. She became sadder and sadder every day, and finally she left her husband and lived in her father’s house. She would go often into the woods to gather berries, and there she would cry, and late in the evening she would go home. Her mother did all she could to comfort her, but she continued to ery. There was a high steep rock a little above their camp, which they called Place Of Supernatural Beings. She was sitting at the foot of the high rock. Every day she went into the woods to pick berries; and when her baskets were full, she would stay at the foot of a large old dry tree, weeping, for she was very unhappy. She did so every day, and in the evening she would go home. 1 Notes, p. 792. =... Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 239 Before she entered her father’s house, she heard a joyful voice in her husband’s house. Then she was still more sorrowful, entered her father’s house, and went right to bed without eating anything. She wept all night. Early the following morning she went out again to pick berries; and as soon as she had filled her two baskets, she sat down at the same place, crying. While she was there, a supernatural being came to her, who asked her, ‘‘Why do you weep, and what makes you so sad?”’ She replied, “Because my husband has married another princess. I love him, and that makes me sad every day.’ Then the supernatural being said, “Don’t ery! I have come to comfort you. I want you to love me.’’ Then he asked her to marry him, and she agreed. She loved him very much. He told her that his camp was not far from hers, and he said, ‘I will come to you often.” This young man was as bright as the sun. He was the son of the supernatural chief who lived in the high rock, and whose name is K-xamin. It stands a little above the river. The shining young man came to her often; and every morning when she went to pick berries, a supernatural being came and helped her, and sometimes a supernatural being would bring them many salmon. Now the former husband of the young woman came often to take her back while the young woman was absent picking berries. He said to her parents that he loved her more than his new wife. When she came back, they told her, but she did not want him any more. Soon this young woman was with child. In the fall the young chief moved back to his own village, with his uncle’s whole tribe; but the young woman’s father remained behind. He staid there in winter, and the supernatural being brought all kinds of animals to his father-in-law. In midwinter the people moved again, and went to the same camping-ground as before, and there a boy was born to the woman. He was like to his supernatural father. As soon as the nephew had put up his camp, he went to his uncle’s house; and when he came in, the young woman went out. There he saw the bright little boy, and he thought it was his child, but it was the child of the supernatural being. Therefore he was very anxious to take her back, but she re- fused to go. Every morning the father of this child would bring salmon to his father-in-law. He put them down on the beach below the chief’s house. But the young chief could not catch any salmon, while the young woman’s father was successful in everything. His house was full of all kinds of food, while in the house of his nephew was not enough food for all his people. Therefore the men of his tribe brought him salmon and berries; and before the fall of the year the young chief’s new wife called all the young people, men and women, and bade them help her pick wild crabapples on her 240 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (urn. ann, 31 husband’s crabapple ground and knife grass ground (?2).'_ Two large canoes full of young men and young women started to pick crab- apples for the second wife of the young chief. They went up shouting for joy. When they had gone, the supernatural being came to his secret wife, and asked her, ‘Did you go with your parents when they went to pick wild crabapples?”’ She said, ‘‘No,’’ because she was much ashamed because the second wife of the young chief had made fun of her. Then the supernatural being said to her, ‘‘You must go with them, for my father’s slaves will pick wild crabapples for you.” Therefore she went with them; and the supernatural being said to her, “Take many mats with you, many boxes, and many baskets!”’ and she did what the supernatural being had told her to do. They took a large canoe and went up above the high rock and camped there. ‘Then the supernatural bemg came to them on the camping- ground. They saw a crabapple tree full of crabapples; and the supernatural being said again, “I give these to my child. Clear the ground at the foot of the crabapple tree, and spread your mats all around it.’’ She did so; and after she had cleared the ground, she spread the mats. They sat down on the beach, her parents a little beyond their daughter, who had gone to pick the large crab- apples. Then all the leaves of the crabapple tree began to shake, although the young woman did not see any one on the tree. She loved her supernatural husband. In the afternoon he said to her, “‘Go and see what has happened to your crabapple tree.’ She went up to the foot of the crabapple tree, and saw a great pile of crabapples on every mat which she had spread there, and there were no small leaves. She ran to the place where ber parents were, and called them, ‘‘Come, parents, and look here!’”? Her mother came down from the tree, and she ran to her daughter, and they saw great piles of crabapples on every mat, and she saw the leaves in heaps by themselves on one side of the tree. She called her husband, and the old chief came to her and saw these things. Then the supernatural being spoke again to his wife, and said, “Tell your parents to cook these crabapples tonight, before they waste away!’’ Therefore the old chief built a large fire, put stones into it, put water into a square box, threw the red-hot stones into it to make it boil, and when the water was boiling, they threw the crabapples into the hot water and covered the box. They finished this during the night. They filled ten or more large baskets. The slaves of the supernatural being were the silver-blue cod, and these had picked the crabapples. They were the slaves of the super- 1This word is unknown to me. I give Mr. Tate’s translation. The original sentence reads: Adat gaxtgo/drt demt sa-k!r’relda nt’a’tgEm m4&‘lkst nakst, gui t!act nt’atguda tax-ye/al. BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 241 natural spirit who lives at the foot of Mount K-xamin, whose son married the young woman. The following day they went down to their camp, and they had ten large boxes filled with crabapples mixed with grease. On the following day the supernatural being came down to his wife, and said to her, ‘‘My parents want to see my cbild for a while.” The young woman said, ‘‘Oh, must it be? I am afraid he will ery when he is there.’’ Then the supernatural being said, “No, not so. My father will make a cradle for him.’’ Therefore she let him have the child. The supernatural being said, ““Come up to the foot of Mount K-xamin after two days, and stay a little below the high rock. There you shall have your child again.” Then he went away with the child. After two days she said to her parents, ‘‘Take some elk skins and red ocher and eagle down, and let us go up to the foot of Mount K-xamin to see my child which his father took away two days ago!”” They took a canoe and went up the river to the foot of Mount K-xamin. As soon as they arrived, a nice carved cradle came down on the water right to the foot of the high rock, and a sweet lullaby was heard in the mountain, and a live cradle was rolled along by the waves of the river, while the echo of the supernatural lullaby was heard on the river and on the mountain. The child was sound asleep in the cradle, and they learned the supernatural lullaby while the live cradle went up and down on the waves of the river. As soon as the lullaby ceased, the live cradle came right toward the canoe. Then the young woman heard her husband’s voice, saying, “Take him!”? The young woman took up the cradle; and the old chief took two elk skins, and said, ‘‘I present these elk skins to you, for you made my grandchild’s carved cradle.” He threw them on the water, and the two elk skins went down; and he threw red ocher and eagle down into the water, which also went down. Before the people went home to their village, the supernatural being said to his wife, ‘‘This year you may go home with the rest of your father’s people, and I will still be with you and help you. Let no one marry you. I shall slay the woman who married your former husband.’”’ Then he went away. The boy grew up rapidly and came to be a youth. One day they moved to their home, but the chief did not camp with his nephew. There were many people in the young chief's camp. They were always merry. Before they arrived at home, the chief’s new wife took a good-sized canoe with some slaves, and went ahead of all the canoes, full of joy. While they were on their way, a great many killer whales came up, and one of them jumped on the canoe in which the new wife of the young chief was. It capsized, and she was drowned together with some slaves, and the young chief was in deep sorrow, and mourned for the death of his new wife. At last 50633°—31 ETH—16 16 242 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 they arrived at home. The supernatural being had sent the killer whale to upset the canoe of the chief’s new wife, who was drowned in the water. Now, the supernatural being came to his wife by night, and told her that he had killed the woman who had made her unhappy. Two days after all the people had arrived at home, the old chief arrived. Then they heard a great noise in the house of the young chief. They asked some people what had happened to the young chief, and they told them that the chief’s new wife was drowned by killer whales jumping on her canoe. Then the old chief gave a great feast and showed his grandchild to the people. The child grew up and became an expert hunter and expert at halibut fishing, and he obtained all kinds of fish and water animals, large and small, and he was richer than any one else. He gave many feasts to all the tribes, and many chiefs wanted to marry his mother, but she refused. She did not want to marry again. Her former husband also wanted to marry her again, but she refused. Many years passed, and the wife of the old chief died. Then the son of the supernatural being was lonely, and said to his mother, ‘‘Let us camp somewhere with my grandfather!’’ Hismother agreed, and they moved, and camped away from the village. One day the young man’s mother spoke to him, and said, ‘My son, I want to say this to you: you ought to marry some princess!”’ but he replied, ‘“‘No.”’ And while they were encamped there, the supernatural being came and brought them many halibut, seals, sea lions, and other animals. They dried them, and built four large houses for drying halibut and seal and sea lion; and when the four houses were full, they built another four, and filled them with whale blubber; and the supernatural being and his son brought four great whales, and he obtained many large water animals. Many houses were full of seal, sea lion, and whales. He caught four large whales, and they tied them to the beach. Seals and sea lions were lying about, and there was a smell of grease all along the beach in front of their camp, and the oil of the great whales covered the water of the sea. At the same time many people died because there was no food in their village. One day early in the morning the old chief took a canoe and went to the village. He loaded his canoe with seal meat and fat and sea-lion meat and fat and also with whale blubber and dried halibut. When his people saw the canoe coming, they all went down to the beach, and the old chief gave each man a piece of seal meat and fat, sea lion meat and fat, and whale blubber; and he told the people that they had an abundance of food and that many houses were full of meat and fat, of whales, sea lions, seals, and of dried halibut; and he said, ‘‘Four great whales are tied to the beach at our camp, and sea lions, seals, and halibut are lying about.” ee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 243 When all the tribes round about heard that there was plenty to eat in the camp of the old chief, they loaded their canoes with elks, spoons of elk antler, and slaves, to present them to their old chief. They brought enough elk skins to fill two houses; and when all the tribes round about heard that there was plenty to eat in the old chief’s camp, they went there to buy meat—the Tsimshian, G'it!ama’t, Bellabella, the people from China Hat, and all the tribes speaking different languages. They bought dried meat and fresh meat, whale blubber, and fat of sea lions and seals, andso on. They bought them with slaves, many large coppers, and four houses full of elk skins, and they had many thousand raccoon skins, and spoons of elk antler, and horn spoons; and when all the buyers had assembled, the old chief gave a great feast to the people speaking different languages— : those who had bought the meat and fat in his camp; and he gave away many slaves and canoes and elk skins, and raccoon skins; and the mother of his grandson gave away many spoons of elk antler, horn spoons, and many boxes of whale oil, and many boxes of sea- lion oil and seal oil. Then the old chief gave his name to his grandson, and he gave to his daughter a great woman’s name; and when all the chiefs were satisfied, they honored the young chief, and he became great among the people, and the people of his own tribe honored the young chief. A little later his grandfather died, and he gave a great feast to all the tribes. He became richer and richer because he was a great hunter and his father was a supernatural being; and his name was great among the people speaking different languages as far as the Bellabella and Tsimshian extend, but he never married. His mother also was great among the princesses. She also was afraid to marry, lest her supernatural husband should be angry with her. (The supernatural being had told his wife that this would be the last time he would visit her. He said, ‘Let my son help you to everything you need.” Then he disappeared.) 35. THE Story oF AspI-wA’L.! (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 71-146.) 36. Waux, THE SON or AspI-wA’u! In the story of Asdi-wa’l we did not tell about his only son. Now we will take it up again, at the time when Asdi-wa’l was living among his brothers-in-law. His wife loved him very much because she thought he was a super- natural being. Not many days after they had married, the young woman bore him a son; and his father, Asdi-wa’I, called his son Waux. That means “very light.’’ This son would fly away like a spark. 1 Notes, pp. 747, 759, 792. 244 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ann, 31 The child grew up and became strong in his mind. He went everywhere with his father. He went hunting in the woods or on the slippery rocks above the mountains; and he knew well how to hunt, because his father taught him how to hunt wild animals. When he went up the mountains with his father, his father would give him a spear and his dogs, and also his large hunting-hat, his little basket, and mat blanket, and his pole, to take care of while he crept up to the animals. He himself only took his bow and arrows and his snowshoes. The boy loved his father very much. When he moved to Nass River with his father and his uncles, they stopped halfway, and the young man went up the mountains with his father Asdi-wa’l. There they killed somé bears in their dens. When they came home late in the evening, the boy told his uncles how many black bears his father had slain, and the young man took care of all the weapons which his father had given him. When his uncles left his father at Ksz-ma’ksrn, the boy did not want to go with them, but they compelled him to do so. Therefore he wept bitterly with his mother all the way while they were going up to Nass River. Not many days after they arrived at Nass River, the mother and her son took a canoe by night and came down from Nass River, trying to find Asdi-wa’l. When they reached the place on the follow- ing day, he had disappeared, and his wife and son were full of sorrow. They searched Ksr-ma’ksEn, and thought that some wild animal had come and devoured him. Then they went right down to their home on Skeena River. The young man was a very skillful hunter. He knew his father’s hunting-ground, and he knew also how to use his father’s weapons. He would kill all kinds of animals, and he became very rich in property. He had meat and tallow of all kinds of animals, fat, and skins of all kinds; and he made black horn spoons of mountain-goat horn, and spoons of elk antler, and dippers of elk antler. Before his mother died she wanted her son to marry one of her cous- ins, and he did what his mother wanted him to do. Not many days after he had married, his mother died, and the young couple were happy. He always went alone to hunt on his father’s hunting- ground. He slew many animals. Sometimes his wife would go with him. There was a great mountain on which his father used to hunt mountain goats in the fall, when they were very fat. He went there, and camped in the hut that his father had built at the foot of the high mountain. His wife was with child, and the children struggled in her womb; and when the time came, behold! she gave birth to twins. In the fall they moved from the village and went to the foot of the BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 245 high mountain to live in the hunting-hut. They camped there, as they had often done before. He killed the mountain goats, and they filled the hut with meat and tallow and fat. In the winter he went home, and gave a great feast to all the tribes of the Tsimshian, and he proclaimed his new name which his father Asdi-wa’l had given to him as soon as he was born. His name was Waux; and he was a great hunter in those days, and his fame spread among all the tribes of the Tsimshian, and the animals of the woods knew him also. His two children followed him wherever he went. One time he went up a newly discovered mountain, and there he lost his two children. They slipped on one side of that new mountain, and both died there in the Valley Of Supernatural Beings. Waux, however, was going to die there too. They mourned for the two children whom he had lost there. So they moved to the old hut at the foot of the high mountain, and Waux went every day to hunt mountain sheep. He enlarged the old hut which his Jate father had built, and filled it with dried meat and fat. Late in the fall, when the leaves were falling, he went up the same mountain for fresh meat. He forgot to take his spear along. He took only his hunting-pole and his dog, his mat blanket, his little root basket, and his hunting-hat. He saw great flocks of mountain sheep, and he pursued them, and the mountain sheep had no way to escape. There was only a narrow cleft on one side of the high mountain. Then all the sheep went into the cleft; and at the end of the cleft there was only bare rock like glass, and all the sheep slipped there. One large sheep was the last; and before the large sheep jumped off the slippery rock, it kicked the side of the mountain, and leaned its head against the rock to show that the mountain was angry with the hunter. After the sheep had done so, it leaped down the slippery rock. Then the high mountain shook for a while. Therefore Waux struck his hunting-pole through the hard rock. He took hold of it, and called his dog to his side. When the mountain shook again, he looked down to his hut and shouted down to his wife, saying, “‘Sacrifice fat to the supernatural powers, for I can neither go on nor turn back!” The woman replied, “I can not hear what you say! What is it?” “Oh, sacrifice fat to a supernatural being!” She cried out and answered, ‘Shall I eat fat?’’ Waux answered still louder, ‘Offer to a supernatural being!’’ She replied again, “Shall I eat fat?” Waux repeated the same words over and over again, but his wife repeated her own wish. Finally Waux shouted, and said, ‘Go and eat all the fat you can! Melt it all and eat it; and after you have eaten the melted fat, drink cold water and lie down across an old log!’”? Then she heard her husband’s words distinctly. She hastened into the hut, made a 246 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 large fire, and melted much fat, and ate it all. Then she felt satisfied and drank much water. She went toward an old log, lay down across it, and her body broke apart. She was transformed into flint, which is still lymg there at the foot of the high mountain. There is flint all over it, and a white stone like white marble is inside. Waux himself was transformed into stone, with his hunting-hat and his mat blanket and his pole, and his dog also was transformed into stone. He is standing there up to this day. The reason is that he forgot to take his spear. He had used the spear often before when some mountains were shaking. He just put the spear across the chasms between rocks after they had shaken, and a way opened for him; but this time he had no way, and his wife misunderstood his request to offer to a supernatural being. 37. THE BLIND G'1T-@!A/°paA! In a camp at the mouth of a creek was x blind man. He used to camp there before he was blind and when he was a hunter. His wife and little son, who loved him yery much, were with him. They were camping there, waiting for the salmon-run. They had a good little hunting-hut. They waited there a long time for the salmon, until the fall. Then, when the salmon were in the brook, the woman and her son went up the brook and caught a few salmon, striking them with a harpoon. Then they carried them down to the hut where the old blind hunter was. This was while the leaves were falling and before the wild animals got into their dens. Early one morning the woman said she would go to gather bark for winter fuel. She did so. She would always go with her little son. Late in the evening they came home. They did so every day. Very early one morning the boy went out; and while he was sitting outside, he looked across the brook, and, behold! a great grizzly bear was coming down to the stream, looking for old dead salmon, which he intended to eat before his long sleep in his den in the long winter. Therefore the boy ran in and told his blind father that a great grizzly bear was coming down on the other side of the stream. The blind man said, ‘Take me out!’ So the boy took him by the hand and led him outside. He said again, ‘‘ Run in and bring my bow and my good arrow!’ The boy did as his father had said. He brought him the bow and the good arrow, and gave them to his blind father. Then his father said, ‘‘ Now take the end of my arrow and point it at the shoulder of that great grizzly bear, that I may hit its heart!” The boy did as his father had told him. He took the point of the arrow and directed it toward the grizzly bear’s shoulder. Then the boy said, “Now shoot!” The old hunter used all his strength to pull his bow, and he shot it. The arrow went right through the great 1 Notes, p. 825. ——— Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 247 grizzly bear’s heart, and it lay there dead. The old hunter said, “‘T killed it with one shot,” for he heard the grizzly bear groan, and after a short time the groan ceased. He said again, ‘‘ Now it is dead, for I hit the heart.” Then his wife came out and made fun of him, and said, ‘Oh, yes! you killed it!”’ The blind man said, ‘ Yes, I killed it.’’ Then his wife laughed at him. The woman knew that he had killed the grizzly bear, yet she did not want to give him any of the grizzly-bear meat. Therefore she said to her blind husband that he had missed it. She thought that if her husband should die soon, she might marry a man better than he. Late in the afternoon that woman said to her son, ‘‘ Let us go across, my son, to get bark! We shall be back late in the evening.”’ Then they went to where the great grizzly bear lay dead; and when they came there, she said to the boy, ‘‘ Now, my son, don’t tell your father that he killed this grizzly bear! You and I will eat its meat and fat.”’ Then she cut it up and filled her canoe twice, and late in the evening she came home. She had washed the arrow thoroughly. The blind man asked, ‘Did you find my arrow, my dear?’’ The boy said, “Yes, father!’”—“ Then bring it to me!’” Them his wife brought it to him, and said, “Here is your arrow with which you shot the old log over there!’’ Then the old hunter took his good and successful arrow, felt of it and smelled of it, and said, ‘‘ Yes, I know that I have killed the animal. I can smell the fat.” Then his wife was angry. He said again, ““O my successful arrow! I have smelled the fat of the great grizzly bear.” Every morning she went out to gather bark with her son. She built a great fire and cooked as much of the grizzly-bear meat as she wanted, and she and her son ate all they wanted. Late in the evening every day she came home. She told her son many times not to tell his father that he had killed the great grizzly bear, lest he should eat the meat and it would all be consumed, and they would die of star- vation. She continued, “Let him die, for he is old and blind and of no use.” The boy, however, did not listen to what she told him every day, for he loved his old father very much. He was always with him in his poor bed, and slept with him often. One night they went to bed early, and the boy whispered to his old father, “Father, you killed that great grizzly bear a few days ago. Here is a little meat which I hid behind my ear, for mother does not want me to tell you that we have plenty, lest you eat of the meat and fat. We always eat meat and fat every day. My mother makes a large fire out there, and she cooks the meat and fat, and she said that she would whip me if I should tell you. Here, I will give you this meat! Hat, my father! I don’t want you to die! Do eat this, father!’ 248 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 His father, however, refused, and said, “‘Go on, my dear son, eat it!’ Then the old man began to ery. He cried the whole night, and before daylight he said to his son, ‘My dear son, I want you to lead me on the trail that leads toward the lake up in the woods.” The boy asked him, ‘‘ What are you going to do, father?’’ He replied, “T will stay there and comfort myself.” The lad said again, “No, T will not do it, father; you might die!’’ but the old man said, ‘If you love me, my son, do what I have asked you to,’’ and the boy agreed; but he said, “Only don’t lull yourself!’”—“No, no!” said the old man, ‘‘but don’t let your mother know about it.” They went farther down from the hut and came to the trail which led up to the lake. They went on and on until they arrived at the lake. Then the old man said, ‘Now go back to your mother, my son, and let me sit down here!” The boy asked to be allowed to stay with him, but his father sent him down to his mother. They were both crying when they parted. The boy went down, and the old man remained sitting there alone, crying. He cried a whole day, and nothing would stop him. After a while, when it was near sunset, he heard a loon crying on the lake. The blind man was still crying. Again he heard the’loon still nearer the place where he was sitting. He continued to cry. He heard the loon a third time quite near to the place where he was sitting, and a little later some one nudged him, and asked him, ‘‘Why do you weep?” He answered, “‘O Supernatu- ral One! I am in great distress. My wife has used me very badly.””— “What do you want me to do for you?” said the supernatural being. The blind man said, ““O Supernatural One! restore my eyesight.” The Supernatural One said, ‘Turn toward me!” Then the blind man hastened to turn toward the supernatural being, who took some rubbish from his right eye and from his left eye. The supernatural being threw this mass on the water. Then he said to the blind man, “Tyo you see me now?”’ The blind man said, ‘I just see a little . light.”” So the supernatural being put out his hands and took some more bad blood out of his eyes, and said, “You are a careless hunter. Why don’t you hide your face when bad things pass in front of your eyes while you are sitting down? Now tell me if you can see that place.’ The blind man said, ‘It is not very clear.” The supernatural being did this three times; and after he had done it four times, he vanished from his sight. Then the blind man went into the water, and saw that it was full of all kinds of rubbish— blood, ashes, hair, smoke, steam, dust, and so on. He was very glad, and wanted to know who had opened his eyes. On the following morning he hid himself, that his son should not see him if he should come. Early the following morning the boy awoke and ran up the trail to the lake; and when he came to the place where his old blind father had been sitting, no one was to be EEE EEE _EOOEOEOEOEOEOEOE_EOEOEOE_O_ EEE ee ar a ee —_—— BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 949 . found; and he began to cry and call his beloved father, but nobody answered. He saw blood in the water, and thought some wild ani- mal had eaten him in the night, and he felt very sad. He went down the trail, erying and calling. His mother heard him when he came down the trail crying. She awoke, and wanted to know who was there. Behold! the boy was coming along crying, and said, ‘‘Some wild animal has devoured my poor father!”’ The boy’s mother was angry with her son, and said, “Stop crying! Let us be glad that your father is dead. Come and eat this rich meat! Stop at once, or I shall whip you!” The boy was afraid of her, and stopped crying; but he did not eat much, because he was thinking of his father. After they had eaten, she said to the boy, “Let us go to get bark!”” The boy, however, lay down on his old father’s bed, weeping, and his mother went alone. She followed the trail; and when she reached the place, she saw something that had been dragged down into the water, and she saw blood mixed with rubbish, and she believed that her husband was dead. She was glad. She went a little farther down along the trail, and saw a large pile of thick bark some distance away from the trail. So she went toward it and piled it up. Now the man went down another way when he heard his wife singing happily instead of singing a mourning-song. He passed her, and went right down to the hut. Behold! there was his son lying on his bed crying. He said to his son, ‘‘My dear son, I am still alive, and my eyes are open again! I can see clearly. Do not cry! Come, let us close up every hole in this hut, and I shall shut the door. Let your mother stay outside this nght!’’ After they had eaten their supper, he went to bed with his beloved son. Late in the evening the woman came home, and the door was shut against her. She knocked at it, and said, “My dear son, did your father come home, or are you still alone?” and there came no answer. She said to her husband, ‘“‘Take pity on me! I feel very cold out here.” Still no answer came from them. She felt very cold, and said, “‘Do open the door for me, my dearson!”’ Her voice was shaking on account of the cold. She said, ‘“‘Take pity on me, lest I freeze to death!” Before daylight she was transformed into a hooting owl. Then the man ran out and opened the door. He saw an owl flying away. It alighted on a tree that stood near the hut, and hooted. So the man said, ““Go away into the woods, owl!’ and he became again a ereat hunter. Not many years passed, and he went alone into the mountains. He had often heard an owl hooting since his wife had been transformed into an owl; and one night when he was alone in the mountains, he 9250 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 heard again the hooting of an owl; and he said, ‘‘ You foolish woman, go away from me! I don’t want you to come near my camp!” Then the owl stopped hooting when she heard what her husband said, and the man forgot that he had been talking to the owl. He went out of his hut, and the owl flew just above his head, and he fell dead right there. 38. LocaL WINTER IN GiT-Q!A/°pA! Before the Deluge the Tsimshian lived on the upper course of Skeena River. There was the great village of the Git-q!a’°da, and in it were many people. They had only one great chief who commanded his people and made laws for them in regard to every- thing.? The son of that chief of the G-it-q!a’°da had married according to their custom, in winter. He was a young man of very good mind. Shortly after he had married, there was a great famine all along the coast. In thespring a man cut a hole in the ice on Skeena River and put down his bagnet. He caught aspring salmon. His wife steamed it in a box and put small sticks through the spring salmon the width of a finger apart. Then he invited all his tribe, and the people were very glad to have a fresh spring salmon. The starvation was almost forgotten; and after they had eaten, they went to their own houses, taking part of the boiled salmon to their wives and children. While they were on their way home, a snowstorm came up; and one man named G:augun took off the cover from his salmon, stretched both his hands toward Heaven, and said, ‘‘ How is it?. Do you think winter is coming back again? Look at the fresh boiled spring salmon that [haveinmy hand! Shame on you for letting it snow every day!” Then he went home and gave his boiled salmon to his wife and his children. After they had eaten, they felt satisfied. Then all the people of the village were ready to go fishing the next morning on the ice. In the same night a heavy snowstorm set in, and it continued until the food of all the people was gone, and there was a very bad famine among the people. Many died of starvation. No one was able to work and to get food, on account of the snow- storms. The wife of the newly married prince had given birth to a child; . and while it was snowing every day, the whole tribe died. Only the prince and his wife remained alive. They ate very little food once a day. The young woman would boil a little piece of dried salmon, and would take the soup for the child that she was nursing, while the prince ate a piece of the salmon. Soon their food was gone. Then the child died, for the mother had no milk for it. On the day after the child had died, a blue- 1 Notes, p. 829. 2 Then follows a description of the marriage customs given on p. 532. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 251 jay was sitting in the smoke hole with a large cluster of ripe elder- berries in its bill. The bird opened its mouth, erying, ‘‘Qwash, qwash, qwash!”” When the elderberries dropped down, the young woman arose and took them and showed them to her starving hus- band. Their hearts felt relieved. Then the woman said to her husband, ‘‘Be of good cheer, my dear! Let us try to leave this desolate place, and we shall find summer, for the supernatural power sends a large cluster of elderberries to show us that summer has come.” Now, they made ready to go to another place while it was still snowing heavily. On the following day they put on their snowshoes and went down river, leaving their old home. They struggled along in the snow. The prince was very weak because he was starving, and his wife suckled him twice a day. They traveled for one day from the old village site, and they passed out of the snow and reached a place where it was summer. When they looked behind, black clouds were still hanging over the village. They went farther down the river and made a camp. The prince was still very weak, and the young woman suckled him. Then she went down to the river to fetch water, and brought it to her husband, and she would always see small trout among the stones in the shallow water. On the followimg day she told her husband that she had seen many trout among the stones in the shallow water. Therefore the weak prince took his knife and split a small piece of red cedar, and made out of it a fish trap. The young woman took it down to the river and placed it among the stones where the small trout were. There she left it over night. On the following morning she went down, and, behold! the trap was full of small trout. She took them to her sick husband. She boiled them in a root basket and took them to her husband. She gave him a wooden spoon, but the prince declined it. He said, “You shall eat it, and you shall go on suckling me.” The young woman did so every day until the prince was a little stronger. Then he made a larger trap, for larger trout; and every night they caught many trout, and also eels. They dried some of the trout and eels, and the prince made a still larger trap for salmon. Then he caught many spring salmon. Next he made two large traps, and he also built a weir on one side of the Skeena River, and put two large salmon traps in the deep water at the end of the bridge. He built a house for smoking salmon. Then they had plenty to eat. There was no longer any famine. In midsummer they dried all kinds of berries, and at the end of the summer the prince built. a large canoe; and after the canoe was finished, they loaded it with all kinds of dried salmon and boxes of dried berries. They went down river, and camped at Fall Camp. 952 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prn. ANN. 31 On the following day they went up to Ksdal. They reached the mouth of the river; and as they camped there, they unloaded their canoe, and built a house in the strange country, which was unknown to them. In the autumn he often went up the mountains to hunt goats while his wife staid at home with her unborn child, and the prince killed many mountain goats. He took their meat and their fat. At the head of the brook he saw a large lake. One day he was thinking of it, and in winter he went up to the large lake and walked on the ice on his snowshoes. Then he went up the mountain at the end of the great lake. When he reached the top, he looked down on the other side, and there he saw smoke ascending in the valley. It was toward evening, and he went back to his camp. Late in the night he came home. His wife was crying, thinking that she had lost him. Then he told her that he had seen smoke on the other side of the mountain which he had climbed. They lived there all winter, and their provisions lasted until the following summer. Toward the end of a hard winter they went across the lake in their canoe. They carried enough food with them, and their new child. They walked up the mountain, and soon they reached the foot of the mountain on the other side. Then they walked down over a large plain, and a brook ran through the plain. They walked down alongside the brook; and when they arrived at its mouth, they saw a house on the other side of it. Therefore they called for some one to take them over. Then a small canoe came across. They crossed the brook, and they met four young men who were encamped there in a small hut, and who gave them food. They were very friendly to these four young men. The eldest of them was in love with the girl, and the girl also loved him dearly. At last the father of the girl became sick and died, and a few days after, her mother also was taken sick and died. Then the girl lived alone with these four young men. (These four young men were the offspring of a wild duck who was sent by the daughter of the South Wind while she was in the house of Chief North Wind, where she was almost frozen.) The eldest of the young men wanted to marry the girl, and she agreed, so they were married. Then the girl gave birth to four children at one time, as ducks lay eggs in the spring; and the next spring four other children were born. They grew up to be men and women. Every time she would give birth to four children at a time, and they began to build a village there; and when their mother died, they had begun to be a large and powerful people; and wherever these people moved, there was a heavy snowdrift on the ground. Therefore it is told among these people that no one should throw stones at wild ducks in winter, lest a heavy snowstorm should set in. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 253 39. THe Drirtine Loe! There was a great war at Gits!smga’lén between two clans—the G-ispawadwer’da and the Eagle Clan. The Eagle people were defeated by the Gispawadwe’da. There was a great battle on that day. Many Eagle people were killed by their enemies. The last day they had a very hot battle, and nearly all the Eagle people were destroyed, and their chief fled with his young niece. The chief’s name was Nés-wa-na’°, and the girl’s name was Daul. They crossed the high mountains between Skeena and Nass Rivers. Many days they walked along the trail; and when they arrived at a village on the upper Nass River, at their Eagle relatives on Nass River, they were received gladly, and Nés-wa-na’° became their chief. In the spring, when the people were expected to come olachen fishing, they moved down to their fishing-ground and camped on Sandbar Camp. The olachen came up the river, and all the people were very busy. Then the children were always in the way of the fishermen, and some of the children were hurt and died. Some fell into the water and were drowned, and so on. One day the new chief invited all his people to a council to talk about the children—how they could keep them safely in an empty house, and how some one should take good care of them. On the following day the children were gathered together in the new chief’s house, but the boys were always fighting with the girls. Therefore another day they separated them, the boys by themselves, and the girls by themselves. A great number of girls went and found a hollow log lying above high-water mark. Their parents had chosen the princess Daul to take care of them, and all the girls loved her very much. They went into the hollow log and played that it was their house. They started a fire in it and ate there, and their parents carried great quantities of provisions into the small log; and they had many gar- ments of black and arctic fox, martens, raccoons, weasels, and all kinds of costly garments. They staid there a long time, while the people were working, and all the children loved the young princess as children love their mother. One night the tide was higher than it had: been for many years, and the high tide carried away the large hollow log from its place while the children were asleep in it. The log floated out to sea with many children in it. Early the next morning the princess aw ose and went out and saw that the log had drifted away. Before the log had drifted away, a young prince had given her a young eagle asa present. She loved the young eagle, and tamed it, and the young eagle learned to understand her words. Then she 1 Notes, p. 831. 254 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prn. ANN. 31 knew what had happened; and when the princess went nearer the young eagle, it was flying with its mistress, and the princess named it Young Eagle. She cried; but when she went back into the hollow log, she stopped crying. She was afraid that if the children should know what had happened, they might faint. Therefore she tried everything to comfort them. The log was drifting way out on the great ocean. When the parents of the children missed the hollow log from its place, they began to cry. They took their canoes, and went down the river to search for their children, but in vain. They did not find them. They went back home, full of sorrow on account of the loss of their children and of their young princess. The young eagle was seated on a root of the hollow log in which the children were; and after a few days had passed, the young eagle flew back to Nass River. When all the people in the village were lamenting, the young eagle flew down from high up in the air, and alighted on the roof of the house of the princess’s grandfather, and sereeched. Then all the people of the village knew that the children were still alive. After the eagle had screeched, it flew away down to the mouth of Nass River. The log was still drifting about way out on the ocean, and the tide took it out between Queen Charlotte Islands and Prince of Wales Island, and took it along the south side of Prince of Wales Island. The people of a Haida village were camped on the outer coast for halibut fishing; and when the sun set in the west and great waves rolled up on the sandy shore at the end of the camp of the Haida tribe, the log was carried ashore by the waves and grounded there; and when the tide receded, the princess said to all the children, “Now, children, come out!” Therefore all the children came out, and the princess said to them, ‘‘ Now go up to the woods behind the village, and I will go in front.” It was evening now, and all the children went up into the woods. Then she walked in front of the houses of the camp, and stopped in front of the chief’s house. Many young people passed her without noticing her; and while she was standing there, some one came up from the beach. It was a young prince, who asked her where she came from and where she belonged; and she answered in her own language, which the prince did not understand, and the young princess did not understand what he said. The young man wanted to take her into his father’s house, The princess first refused, but finally she went with him. The prince stopped the young men who were playing at the door of his father’s house, and led her into the chief’s house, who ordered his young men to spread mats at one side of the house. Then the great chief said, ‘‘My son shall marry you because I am your relative. What is your name, my dear?” but she did not under- a eee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 255 stand what he said. Therefore they called one of his female slaves who understood the Tsimshian language to be his interpreter; and the interpreter said, ‘The great chief asked for your name.”’ She replied through the interpreter, “‘My name is Daul. I am the niece of the great chief Grit-xi’n and Nés-wa-na’°. They were all killed by the enemy. He was the only one who made his escape from them. He took me across the mountains, and at a river on the other side of the mountain we found our relatives, who treated us well; and the whole village loved my uncle and myself. When the olachen came up the river, they moved down to their camping-ground; and they did not want my uncle to work himself, so they gave him all their children to take care of while the people went out fishing, and they -gave me the girls to take care of. I took them into a large hollow tree which lay above high-water mark, and one night the high tide carried it away, and we drifted away from there to this place.’”’ After she had said this, she began to ery. Then the great chief eid “My niece, “my son shall marry you.” She replied, ‘I will do so if you will promise to take care of my girls.” Therefore the chief said, ‘‘ We will take care of them as though they were our children.’’ Then she sent the young men to bring them down. The young men went and shouted; but the girls were afraid, and ran away, for it was the first time they heard the Haida language. The young men came to the chief’s house and said that the children were afraid of them. Therefore the princess went down with her new husband to the hollow tree, and all the children were -in there. She called them; and before they left the hollow tree, the princess asked them to put on their fur garments, and they all went into the great chief’s house. The chief ordered his men and slaves to give them food; and after the food was served, the great chief said to his new daughter-in-law, “I will take all these girls to be my own chil- dren; and if any one wants to marry any one of them when they are grown up, they shall come and talk to me; and if I agree, then they may have them.” On the following day his son was married, and the great chief invited all the other chiefs to the marriage festival. The young eagle still loved the princess, and she always fed the young eagle. Sometimes it went over to Nass River to visit her grandfather. It would stay there a while and then come back again to the princess. After a few months had passed, the young princess gave birth to a boy. A year passed, and another boy was born to her. Another year passed, and she gave birth to another boy. There were, in all, four boys and one girl, and then another girl. All her companions married. They also had children. 256 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pri. ANN. 31 The princess’s children were skillful sea-otter hunters. One day a great number of children were playing on the beack, and the prin- cess’s youngest child was among them. She hurt one of her play- mates, and the child began to ery. Then the mother of the child which was crying asked, ‘‘Who hurt you 2?” and the child of the mother said that the younger daughter of the princess had hurt her. Then the child’s mother scolded the younger daughter of the princess, saying, “You have no reason to be proud, child; your father just found your mother on the beach. He did not intend to marry her like a princess, taking her from her father’s house.’’ The princess heard what she said, and she began to ery. She did not tell her husband. The princess’s boys did not speak her language; only her elder daughter could speak her language. Now the four young men were grown up, and were strong men. They were playing outside, and began to quarrel with the son of one of their father’s relatives.. They began to fight, but the princess stopped them with kindly words; but the mother of their cousin was angry, and she scolded the princess’s sons, saying, ‘‘We did not go to your mother’s father’s house to let my brother marry your mother, and now you pretend to be very proud, you slave! They found your mother on the beach.” When the princess came into her father-in-law’s house, she cried bitterly. After she had cried, her husband came in and questioned her, but she did not tell him. She only said to him, ‘‘Make a good- sized canoe. I willsend all my children to my own country.’ There- fore her husband bought a large canoe; and one day in the summer- time they loaded the canoe with many things—costly coppers, and slaves for all the boys and for one of the daughters. The father kept only the younger daughter. Her mother called her elder daughter, and said, ‘‘The young eagle will guide you to our native home.”’ The princess asked her husband to make a crosspiece of wood and fasten it on the bow of the canoe to let the young eagle sit on it. He made it, and they started. The young eagle was sitting on the bow ~ of the canoe, and they paddled away along the south side of Prince of Wales Island, and the young eagle flew ahead of them. Before they started, their mother had said to her daughter, ‘‘ You shall always ask the young eagle which way to go: ‘Young Eagle, where is your mother’s native land? and it will guide you on your way home.” Now they started; and the young eagle flew ahead in front of the canoe. It would sit on a tree; and when the canoe came to the place where it was sitting, it flew ahead again and sat down again farther on. Thus they continued all the way until they arrived at Root-Basket Camp. They camped there. In the evening they went around the small island and killed many seals. After they had dressed the seals, Boss] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 257 they went on until they passed Grizzly-Bear Pomt. Behold! there was a great sea in front of them. Then the girl asked the young eagle, ‘‘Where is your mother’s native land, Young Eagle?” and the eagle led them to a camping-place. There they waited until the following morning. Early the following morning the eagle screeched to wake them up. They arose and went on. The young eagle flew across the great sea high up in the air, and the princes paddled on as hard as they could; and when the sun rose high up in the sky, they saw a small blue mountain far ahead. They followed the eagle, which was flying way up in the air, and before evening they saw the island ahead. They paddled very hard, and late in the evening they arrived at Slave Island. They camped there and took a rest; and after they had eaten, they slept. Only a girl watched over them while they were asleep. They camped there for two days. The following day they went on again and crossed Beaver-Tail Island. The girl asked the eagle again, ‘‘Where is your mother’s native land, Young Eagle?” and it always flew ahead; and when they arrived on the mainland, they camped on Hole Island. On the fol- lowing day they went on to Nass River, and in the evening they camped on Gravel Bar Camp (??). The young eagle left them there; and they did not know which way they should go, because it was at the mouth of three rivers where they were camping—the rear river, middle river, and Nass River. The eagle bad been away for two duys, ana the princess was still encamped there. The eagle had gone up to her (?) mother’s uncle, and was sitting on top of his house, screeching. After two days the eagle came back; and the princess started once more, going up Nass River, the eagle flymg ahead. Now they understood that they were near home, and they were very glad. Before they arrived at the village, they put on their good clothes; and their sister looked shining, like a supernatural being, when she put on her dress of white sea-otter skin. The four brothers wore their garments of black sea- otter skin, and they had red paint on their faces and eagle down on their heads. They paddled along, and the young eagle was sitting on the bow of the canoe. Before the sun set in the west, the canoe came up to a village; and the young people were shouting outside on the street, when they saw the canoe coming up to them. The canoe arrived on the beach in front of the village, and the people saw the young eagle sitting in the bow. Some one asked them, ‘‘Where do you come from? What people are you?”’ Then the girl said, ‘‘We are the children of your Princess Daul, who was among the children that were carried away by the high tide in the hollow tree.” Then all the people cried, and some shouted for joy. They took them up into their grandfather’s house. 50633°—31 ETH—16 17 258 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 The chief was very old, and was blind on account of his old age. Then all the people of the village came in to see them. They were seated on one side of the large fire. They were like supernatural beings to look at. Then the old chief asked, “‘ Where is your mother ?” The girl replied, “She is at home with father.””—‘‘Who are your father’s people ?’””—‘‘He is the only son of a great chief named Git-x4’/n.”—‘How many are you?’’ asked the old chief. She replied, ‘These four boys here and we two girls. My grandfather kept my younger sister .to stay with him.” Then the old man smiled, and said, ‘‘Come up to me, each of you, from the eldest to the last!”” Then the eldest boy went to him. ‘ What is his name?” and the girl replied, ‘‘His name is Hais.’’ Then the second one came. He felt of him also, and asked, ‘‘ What is his name ?’’—‘‘ His name is Nés-awatk.”” Then the third one came. ‘What is his name?’?— “Tis name is Xagigun.”’ Then the last one came. ‘What is his name ?”— His name is Xbi-yé/lk.” And he called her to come. “My dear,” he said, ‘I will feel of you.”” She went to him, and he asked her, ‘‘ What is your name, my dear ?””—“My name is Wi-n!é’°x;”’ and the old chief continued, ‘‘Who gave you your names, children ?”’ She replied, ‘‘My grandfather gave them to us.’’—‘‘ Yes, yes! he is my relative. Is it veryfar?” Shereplied, “It is not so very far.’’— “Who brought you here?” She said that a young eagle had brought them. ‘“‘And where are all your mother’s companions ?’’—‘‘ They all married there. Not one of them was lost. and some of them have children.”” Then all the people were glad. The chief said to the eldest one, ‘‘ You shall have my place, and try to go back to our own village at G:its!=mga’l6n and destroy those who killed your grandfathers.” : As soon as the old chief ended his speech, he fell back and died. Then his whole tribe mourned over him. The eldest son of Princess Daul succeeded to his place, and his people loved him very much. One day his people wanted to go and visit their chief’s children. Many of them went in many canoes, and one of the sons of Daul went with them to guide them on their way; and they reached the village of the Haida, who received them peacefully, and they became very friendly. There was no war between them, and the Nass River people took back some of their grandchildren. As soon as they arrived on Nass River, the new chief wanted to go and fight with the people of Gits!smga’l6n, those who had mur- dered his relatives on the battle-field years ago. Therefore he made ready, with his whole tribe. They crossed the mountains, and arrived at the great lake of G-its!emga’lén. They saw smoke up there, and followed it, and soon they arrived at a great camping- place near the lake. The people were beaver hunting. They went there secretly by night. The people who were in camp there were BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 259 the relatives of the murderers of the relatives of the young chief. The chief and his people staid behind the house, waiting until their ene- mies were asleep. They were very merry in the evening, laughing and shouting for joy, and making fun of the relatives whom their grand- father had destroyed on the battle-field years ago. The young chief heard all they said, and heard them laughing. At midnight the war- riors came in one by one; and when they were all in the house, the chief ordered his men to stand each by one of the sleepers; and when they were ready, the chief shouted, ‘Now slay the murderers!” Then his men killed all of them, and not one of them escaped. Only one slave-woman with her little daughter was saved. She was a relative of the young chief, and she was living in a little hut behind her master’s house, where she was weeping. She made her escape early in the morning. Early in the morning the four princes sang their war-song, and the slave-woman knew her relatives’ war-song. After they had sung twice, the slave-woman came out with her little daughter, and said, “You are my relatives, my dears. I know your war-song.” The young chief asked her, ‘‘What is your name?” and the woman replied, ‘“‘My name was Wi-n!e’°x. Iam the younger sister of Princess Daul, whom my uncle Nés-wa-na’° took away from here to some other place; and these people took me captive, and I have been their slave for many years. They intended to kill me when they put up a totem- pole in winter.”” Then the four princes raised their voices and wept; and after they had wept, the young chief said to her, ‘‘My mother’s name is Daul. She is still alive. She is married to a great chief's sonina Haida village. Sheis yoursister. She had six children—four boys and two girls—and we are her children.”” Then the poor slave- woman embraced each of them. The young chief asked her whether any of the men remained in the village; and she said, ‘Only one old chief remains, the one who de- stroyed all your grandfathers in battle.’’ She asked, furthermore, “Ts my uncle alive?”’ They replied, ‘‘As soon as we came home to his house he died, after having spoken to us, and I succeeded to his place; and he charged me to take revenge on these murderers who destroyed his brother and his people. Therefore I have come across these mountains. All my companions are my people.” After this they had a long conversation, and the young chief said to his men, ‘‘ Now cut off the heads of those whom you have killed!” They did as their young chief had told them. And he said also, ‘‘Take their scalps!”’ and they cut down the bodies on each side of the chest down to the belly and pulled down the skin between their legs as a sign that the relatives of those slain should not take revenge in the future. When they had done so, they put each of the bodies on a pole and placed them upright along the camping-ground. Then 260 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ern. ANN. 31 they went down to the village of Gits!smga/lén. They arrived at the village in the evening, and went into their enemy’s house, where the old chief was all alone. They saw him sitting in the rear of his house; and when they all had entered, the young chief said, ‘‘ Now kill the old chief to avenge the death of my grandfather’s relatives whom he destroyed.’”’ Then all his men clubbed him with their war- clubs, and the young chief destroyed all his property, pulled out his eyes, and hung the body on the grave of his uncles who were slain in battle long ago, head downward, feet upward. ‘Then he sent back all his warriors to Nass River, to their own home, together with his third brother. The daughter of his captive aunt and two of his own krothers staid with him. He wanted his own sister to come and live with them, and he continued to live in his own native home. When his sister came across the mountains, he married a princess, one of his neighbors’ daughters; and many chiefs desired to marry his sister, for she was very beautiful; and one of the G-its!ala’sur came and wanted to marry her. The chief agreed to it, and they were married; and they multiplied among all the tribes of the Tsim- shian; and so did her younger sister, whom her grandfather kept among the Haida, and also the daughter of the captive aunt, whom he sent over to Nass River. These three girls were the ancestors of the Eagle family all over the coast, among the Tsimshian. 40. Tur Srery or AsprEDA AND Omen! A long time ago there was a village called Dzi’gwa. There lived a chief and his wife. They had two children, a boy and a girl. The boy was called Asdilda, and the girl was named Omen (Dirks). One day the prince called his three friends, and they went up the river of Dzi’gwa in their canoe to fish for trout, as they used to do every spring. The prince was seated in the bow of the canoe, two of his friends in the middle, and one at the stern. They went up the river until they arrived at their fishing-ground. Then the prince looked down into the clear water, and saw many trout under the canoe. He took his two-pronged fishing-spear. The prince wore his valuable hat. The hat was very expensive, and was called Cormorant Hat. It was covered with costly abalone shells; and nobody was allowed to wear the hat except this prince, as a crest of his family. He speared a good many trout, and at last a large trout came up. He tried to spear it; but before he succeeded, his valuable hat fell down, and the trout was gone. He had missed it. He put his hat on, and looked down again, and saw a large trout come along slowly. He took his spear, and was ready to throw it; but before he could cast his spear, his valuable hat fell off, and he lost sight of the 1 Notes, p. 832. ee Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 261 trout. Then he put on his hat again and looked down. He saw another large trout coming up, and he tried to spear it; but before he could do so, the trout was gone, for his hat fell down again, and he lost sight of it. Then he became angry, took off his valuable hat, tore it to pieces, and threw it into the water, and it went down. The steersman, however, took a long pole and fished up the pieces of the valuable hat, and placed them behind himself in the stern of the canoe. Now the prince said, ‘‘Let us camp here!” for it was getting evening. They camped at the foot of a large spruce tree, as they were in the habit of camping every spring. They built a fire, and were about to roast some trout for their supper. Soon the trout was cooked, and the friends got skunk-cabbage leaves and spread them on the ground. They used them as dishes to put the roasted trout on. Immediately a frog leaped on the cooked trout and remained sitting on it. Then the prince became angry with the frog. He took it and threw it into the fire, but the frog jumped out of the big fire. He took the frog again and threw it once more into the fire. The poor thing tried to escape, but in vain, for the young man was stronger than it. At last the frog was killed in the fire; and one of the prince’s friends took the burnt frog away and secretly threw it into the bushes. Then they had their supper. They lay down and slept; and on the following morning, very early, the prince said to his companions, “Let us go home!” They launched their canoe and started home- ward. When they were all aboard, they paddled along. When they were a little distance from the camp, behold! a young woman was seen coming down to the beach behind them. She shouted, saying, ‘‘My dears, please take me along with you!”’ The woman had her face blackened with charcoal, for she was in mourning. The young man turned back to her, for the prince was much pleased by the beauty of the young woman. He jumped out of the canoe to take her, and stretched out his hands to embrace her; but the woman vanished, and only a frog leaped away from him. He went down to his canoe, and they paddled on. When he had gone some distance, they heard somebody crying behind them, saying, ‘‘My dears, will you take me along with you ?”’ and the young man stopped. They looked back, and the prince saw a beautiful girl. He said to his companions, ‘‘Let us turn back and take her along!”? So the canoe turned back toward her. When they arrived near the shore where she had come down to the beach, the prince jumped out of the canoe and walked up to the woman. He stretched out both his arms to embrace her, but she vanished again. Only a frog leaped away from him. He went down to his canoe, and they started again. After they had paddled some time, a woman came down to the beach and shouted, saying, ‘‘My dears, please take me 262 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ErH. ANN. 31 along with you!”’ Then the men stopped, looked back, and saw a good-looking woman coming down. The prince asked them to turn back and to take her aboard. So they turned back and reached the place where she had come down. The prince jumped out and went to meet her, and the woman came down to the beach; and the prince stepped up to her quickly and stretched out his hands to embrace her, but she vanished, and just a frog leaped away from him. He went down to his canoe, and they paddled away; and after they had gone some distance, they heard some one erying behind them, saying, ‘‘My dears, take me along with you!’’ Then the prince answered, ‘‘No, you will vanish away from me.” Thus said the prince to her. And she asked once more to be taken along, but they did not heed her request. They paddled away as hard as they could. Then the woman said to them, ‘‘My dears, listen to what I say to you!”’ They stopped and listened. ‘‘As you go along, when you arrive at that point yonder, your prince will fall back and die; when you reach the next point, one of those who sit in the middle of the canoe will die; and before you arrive at the beach of your village, the next man will die, too; and as soon as your steersman finishes tellmg to your people the story of what has happened to you, he will die.” Thus spoke the woman to them. They paddled away from her, laughing, and scorning her, ‘‘Ha, ha! you will soon die yourself!” They paddled along, and soon reached the point about which the woman had told. Then the prince fell back and died. His friends paddled along, weeping and sad; and while they were paddling along weeping, one of those sitting in the middle of the canoe fell back and died also. Now, only two were left who were paddling along. Before they reached the shore of their village, the next one fell back and died, and only the steersman remained. When he arrived at the shore, crowds of people came down and questioned him about what had happened to those who had died. The steersman did not say a word, but went up to his father’s house. The people continued to question him as to what had happened to them. As soon as he came into his father’s house, the crowds fol- lowed him, and the house was full of the people of the whole village. Then the steersman began his story. “Yesterday, when we arrived at the fishing-ground, our prince, Asdilda, speared many trout; and before he went to camp, he looked down and saw a large trout coming along. Immediately he took up his harpoon, ready to spear the large trout, but his hat fell over his eyes, and the trout disappeared. His valuable hat fell several times just when he was ready to throw his spear, and the trout was gone. At last he became angry, took off his hat and tore it to pieces, and Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 263 he threw it into the water; and when I saw the hat sink slowly, I took my pole and fished it up, and put it behind me in the canoe, at the stern. “Tn the evening we camped at the foot of a large spruce tree, and built a large fire, ready to cook our supper. We roasted some-of the trout, and soon they were done. Then we went for skunk-cabbage leaves, and we spread them on the ground to serve as dishes. Then we put the roasted trout on them. As soon as we sat around there, a frog leaped on the fish; and our prince, Asdilda, became very angry at the frog, took it, and cast it into the fire. The frog leaped out of the fire, but the prince took it again and threw it in. The frog tried to escape from him, but could not do so. Again the frog tried to leap out of the fire, but the prince took a long pole and pressed it into the fire. The frog tried to escape, but could not do so. He pressed hard, until the poor thing died and was burned.” The steersman continued, ‘Then I took the body secretly and threw it into the bushes. Our fire was almost out, and we lay down in our camp to sleep until the following morning. Then we had our breakfast; and after we had eaten, our prince said that we should go back home. “We started for home; and when we were paddling along from our camp, we heard some one shout behind us.” Thus said the steersman while the people crowded about him in his own house. “Then,” said the steersman, ‘‘we beheld a young woman, who stood on the beach of our camp, with her face blackened with char- coal as a sign of mourning; and she said, ‘My dears, will you take me along in the canoe?’ Our prince said, ‘Let us turn back and take her with us!’ So we turned back to her; and when we reached the shore, our prince jumped out of the canoe, went to her, and stretched out his arms to embrace her, for he was pleased with her. She hada lovely countenance, and was beautiful to look upon. Therefore the prince put forth his arms to embrace her; but she vanished from our sight, and the prince saw only a frog that leaped away from him. “This happened to us three times. “Then we paddled away from our camp, not heeding her words. She cried out repeatedly after us; and at last she said, ‘My dears, just stop for a while, until I have told you something.’ Then we stopped paddling, and she said, ‘Just listen to what I say. - When you reach the point yonder, your prince will fall back and die; and when you reach the other point, one of those seated in the middle of the canoe will die; and the next one will also die before you arrive at home; and your steersman will die as soon as he has finished telling his story to the people.’” Thus said the steersman, and fell back and died. 264 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 30 Then all the people of the village moved away. They took the bodies of the dead and buried them. On the following morning an old woman who lived at the end of the town went to the house of the chief, of the father of the prince who had died. The old woman said, “Send for all the people of the village.” The chief obeyed, and invited all his people in; and when all the people were in the house, the old woman said, “My dear people, I had a dream last night;’” and all the people were very anxious to know what the old woman had dreamed. So the people questioned her, and need what her dream had been. She said, ‘‘I had a very bad dream;”’ and she said to the chief who had lost his son, ‘Dig out the earth i in the middle of your house. Dig a deep holes and put your only daughter into it.” Therefore the chief ordered his people to dig out the ground; and after they had dug a deep hole, they put costly coppers into it first, painted garments, and much property. They put the costly coppers on each side of the pit, and also garments of sea-otter skins, of marten skins, and woven blankets, and many elk skins. Then the girl went into the hole, and they covered it over with blankets, and filled it in over the blankets. As soon as the old woman knew that the princess Omen had been covered with earth, she said, “I saw in my dream that fire fell from heaven and consumed this village. I saw a fire fall on top of that mountain yonder.’’ And as she pointed to the top of the same mountain, behold! a little firebrand fell down on top of the mountain, and it began to stream down quickly like water from the top of the mountain. The fire went around the village, and the water in front of the village burned like oil. The people of the village could not escape from it. They were all burned up. Only the princess, who was hidden in the hole, was saved; and the old woman also hid herself in the ground. The princess Omen heard the noise of the fire passing over her while she was sitting in the pit; and when the noise had ceased, she heard the voice of a very old woman coming down crying; and Omen heard the mourning-song of the old woman, and Omen knew that the old woman was weeping on the ground above her; and this is the mourning-song of the old woman: Fi eee Am - sa- gait - dat na- ga - ee séps dprp an-qa dep an - qa I gather the bones of my dear ones, my dear ones. BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 265 The girl heard it while she was in the pit. After a little while, she heard another voice coming along. So she pushed away the cover, and, behold! she saw a chieftainess holding a cane in herhand. There was a live frog at the lower end of the cane, and a live person on top of the live frog, and a live eagle was at the upper end of the cane; and the phiet ness was wearing her large hat made of spruce non painted green. She walked slowly along, talking with the aged woman. She said to the old woman, Don’ t you know that Asdilda cast my only child into the fire? Therefore I burned up this village.” She sang— HS gS ae eee ae Yéa ho yéa ha yea ho yéa ha ayéa a yéa-ha ye ho yéa (three times) Daila’°gans ya, Dzila/°gans ya, ayéa a yéa-ha yeaye And she went along all alone, crying while she was walking. After she had repeated her song three times, she put her child’s name into the mourning-song, in the last line of hersong. Her name was Dzila’°vans. This was the name of the frog that had been thrown into the fire by the prince while he was on his way to fish trout. While the chieftainess was going away, the girl Omen came out from her hiding-place. She had learned well the mourning-song of that chieftainess who had just gone. As soon as she was out of her pit, she looked around, and with deep sorrow she saw that nobody was saved, that the whole village was burned. She went along, not knowing which way to go; but before she went, she put on her garments of sea-otter and of marten skins and the chief's woven dancing-blankets; and she put in order the costly coppers and the elk skins, which she left in her hiding-place. Then she went off full of sorrow, and singing her own mourning-song. It is as follows: ee ee eee | ees ee re eee eee 1. Na dem maigé sint guna/dil gan-wa/lda; a yi yi Na dem maigé sint guna/dit gan-wa/lda; a yi yi. bo . Nit wil ga-xbrsrm-laxla/xt gui-hauts guna/dit gan-wa/Ida; a yi yi. Gan-lu-gaxt wi-gal-tslabem Dzi’gwa; a yl yi. 3. Gan-lu-gaxt na-gal-ts!a/pges guna/da; a yi yi. Gan- lu-gaxt wi- gal- ts!a’bem Dzi’gwa; a yi yi. 4. Nil wil ksi-latkt gus-likla’k; a yi yi. Gan-lu-gaxt wi-gal-ts!a’bem Dzi’gwa; a yi yi. 266 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pru. ANN. 31 1. When went to spear fish my dear lord, alas! When went to spear fish my dear lord, alas! 2. Then fell the cormorant hat of my dear lord, alas! And so the town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas! 3. So the town Dzi’gwa of my dear lord was destroyed, alas! So the great town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas! 4. Then the shining garment appeared, alas! So the great town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas!! She went on and on until she came to a large lake; and while she was walking around the lake, she beheld a beautiful garment spread for her on the ground, glittering like the stars of heaven. The gar- ment was full of the foam (?) of living persons; and she put this glit- tering garment into the mourning-song. She went along, weeping, past the garment; and while she was still going on along the lake, she suddenly heard a great noise coming forth from the water of the lake. It sounded like the rolling of thunder. She looked up, and saw a supernatural halibut coming up out of the water in the shape of a house with carved front, and she put it into her mourning-song. She passed by, going her way, struggling along until she felt weary and faint, because she was starving, and her voice was almost lost on account of her weakness. After some time Omen came down on the other side of the lake, and she saw a fire burning under the root of a spruce tree. She went toward it, feeling very weak. Her garments were almost gone on account of her long journey. She sat down by the fire, with her back toward it. On this fire the body of a dead princess of a town near by had been burned. The only daughter of a chief and his chieftainess had died and had been burned there. And while the wandering princess was sitting by the funeral pyre warming herself, a canoe came along with four people in it. When they saw the princess sitting by the fire, they passed on toward the village on the other side, and they took the news to the people of the village, saying that they had seen a young princess sitting by the funeral pyre; and all the people were glad, and said that the princess had come back to life. Therefore the chief and his wife went over to see what had happened there. They arrived at the beach, and, behold! a princess was sitting down by the fire. They came ashore as quickly as they could, and the chief and his wife went up to the fire. Then the whole company, and also the chieftainess, embraced the girl; and the chieftainess asked her, “What is your name?” The girl said that her name was Omen, and so on; and this had been the name of the chieftainess’s only 1 Mr. Tate has given tune and words apart, and I can not fit the words to the music.—F. B. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 267 daughter who had just been burned on the funeral pyre where the wandering princess was sitting. Then the chief and his wife and his people took her home, full of gladness, and gave a great feast to the people, because his daughter who had been dead a little while previously had come back to life. So the princess lived with her new parents; and after she had been there for some time, her new parents loved her very much, and her father wanted to marry her to one of his nephews. The following summer, when the strawberries were ripe, all the young women started to pick strawberries on a certain island a little distance away from their village. All the young women left the canoe and went to pick berries on one of these islands. The young princess was left alone in the canoe; and when the whole party began to pick strawberries, the princess, who was alone in the canoe, started to go out to the next island. While she was on her way, a south- westerly gale began to blow, and drove her away. The strong wind drove her canoe away from her new home; and so she arrived in the middle of the great sea, in an entirely unknown part of the world. Then she sang her mourning-song which she had been singing while she wandered away alone, after the fire had consumed her own father’s village. Then she looked, and, behold! a large object like a great eagle came forth from the water, with ten little eagles on the head of the large one. She drifted on until she landed a little distance outside of our old town of Metlakahtla. She reached the shore of the G-id- wul-¢'4’dz tribe, and their chief took her into his house and mar- ried her. She bore him three sons and two daughters, and she was happy in her new home. The chief who had married her had five wives besides her, so he had six wives altogether. And one day the older wives of the chief quarreled with the princess because the chief loved her most; and the elder wives said to the young princess, ‘‘The chief ought not to have married you, for you were driven away by the southwest wind while you were picking strawberries, you Haida slave!’”’ Thus said the elder wives of the chief to Omen. Her children grew up. The eldest son used to go out hunting, and they became rich in the foreign land. The boys gave a great potlatch to all the Tsimshian tribes, and took their names. The eldest son took the name Asditda, and the second one took the name Younans, the third one Gamqagun; and the first girl was named Lu-xsmiks, and the second one Alulal and Sagabin. Then they had another great feast, and Asdilda made a cormorant headdress covered with abalone shells, like that of the former Asditda, which he wore when he was out fishing for trout at Dzi’gwa; and he made a cane like that of the Frog Woman, with the frog at one end, and the live person on 268 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (ETH. ANN. 31 the frog, and a live eagle at the upper end; and he made a glittering garment, like the one which his mother saw by the side of a lake, and a supernatural halibut, and the eagle that his mother had seen in mid- ocean while she was being driven away by the southwest wind. Then they gave their mother a new chief’s name, Picking Strawberries and Great Haida Woman. She got these names on account of her quarrel with the elder wives of the chief a little while ago. Therefore these people have these names and crests, and they have their mother’s mourning-song which she sang while escaping from the burnt village. Many years after this the mother called her children together and told them what had happened to her. She said, ‘‘These are not your people. Our people lived on the other side of this land, way out at sea.’’ She told them the story about her brother Asditda— what had happened to him when he was out fishing trout, and how the Frog had burned their village, and how she alone was saved when her father dug a pit and put her into it with much valuable property and six costly coppers, and so on, and how she came to the other village among her relatives who had the same crest, and how she was driven away by the southwest wind, and so on, until she had married the children’s father. Thus spoke the princess to her children. As soon as she ended her story, one of the boys said, ‘‘Let us go and visit our native land and our relatives there!” Then the eldest one said, “Let our younger brother and our younger sister go to visit them!’’ So they made themselves ready and went. Their father the chief bought a new good-sized canoe, large enough to withstand the sea and the wind, and the mother went down with them to the beach. She pointed out the direction with her finger, saying, ‘‘ You must keep ahead between Dundas Island and Stephens Island; and when you get out to sea, keep ahead in the direction where the sun sets, and the stern toward sunrise; and when you get to the islands, turn your canoe to the southwest. Then you will find your grandfather’s village.”’ Thus she said to her two children: The children started out, and six slaves went along with them. They went on and on until they passed between the two islands, Dundas and Stevens, and went out to sea, as their mother had told them. Then they turned their canoe to the southwest; and after some time, when the mainland sank out of sight, they saw land ahead of them, and they were glad. On the following morning they landed on the other shore and camped for awhile. They went on, turning their canoe southward, as their mother had told them, and they went along the shore of the island; and when they passed the first point, they saw a village in front of them, and before evening they arrived in front of the village. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 269 The young prince said to them, ‘‘My dears, have you lost a princess who was on her way to pick strawberries many years ago?”’ Then the people of the village called them ashore and took them into the house of the new chief; and they told the story how their mother was driven away by the southwest wind while on her way to pick strawberries; and some of the people who knew their mother were glad to hear the good news about the princess who was lost many years ago. Then the people told them how their mother had a good home among the Tsimshian tribe, and how the elder brothers had given great feasts, and that their father was a chief of one of the Tsimshian tribes; and at the end of their speech, their grandfather’s nephew invited in all the chiefs, and told them that the old man’s grandchildren had come safely, and they were all happy. The boy went on the following day to visit the old home of his mother, trying to find the costly coppers and the property that was hidden, as his mother had told him. He arrived at the old desolate village-site of Dzi’/gwa, and he found all the things as his mother had told him. He found all the costly coppers and the other property, and that is the end. These are Omen’s mourning-songs, which she sang when she went along her way, after she had left the village that had been destroyed by fire: 1. Na dem maigé sint guna/dil gan-wa/Ida; a yi yi Na dem maigé sint guna/dil gan-wa/lda; a yi yi. bo . Nil wil ga-xbesem-laxla’xi gul-hauts guna/dil gan-wa/Ida; a yi yi. Gan-lu-gaxt wi-gal-ts!abem Dzi/gwa; a yi yi. 3. Gan-lu-gaxt na-gal-tsla/pgEs guna/da; a yi yi. Gan-lu-gaxt wi-gal-ts!a/bem Dzi’gwa; a yi yi. 4. Nil wil ksi-latkt gus-likla’k"; a yi yi. Gan-lu-gaxt wi-gal-ts!a’bem Dzi’gwa; a yi yi. 1. When went to spear fish my dear lord, alas! When went to spear fish my dear lord, alas! 2. Then fell the cormorant hat of my dear lord, alas! And so the town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas! 3. So the town Dzi’gwa of my dear lord was destroyed, alas! So the great town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas! 4. Then the shining garment appeared, alas! So the great town Dzi’gwa was destroyed, alas! ' 1See footnote on p. 266. 270 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 Am- sa- gait- dal na- ga- séps dep an- qa dep an- qa I gather the bones of my dear ones, my dear ones. Dzila/°gins ya, Dzila’°gAns ya, ayéa a yéa-ha eaye gins y: gains } yéaay yeay 41. EXPLANATION OF THE Braver Hart! There was a great war between the Eagle Clan and the Ganha’da, who lived in villages, one on each side of the river. A prince of the Ganha’da was married to a princess of the Eagle Clan. One day the young man was jealous of his wife. He took his knife and cut her, and the young woman ran over a bridge to her uncle’s house. As soon as she got across, she fell down dead; but before she died she told her brothers that her husband had cut her with his big knife. She died, and her relatives did not weep over her. They just hid the body. Her younger brother looked just like her. He took her clothes, put them on, and pretended to be the young woman. He looked just like his sister. One day he was walking about outside. Then the young man from the village of the Ganha’da saw his wife walking about on the other side. Therefore one evening he went across, trying to take her back. As soon as he met his wife, he entreated the young man who pretended to be a woman to go back with him. The young man replied, ““T am not angry with you; you were jealous. So if you want to come in with me tonight, come, but I don’t want you to do me any harm again;’’ and the young man of the Ganha’da promised that he would not do her 1 Notes, p. 834, BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Dial any harm. Late in the night they went into the house; and as soon as the young man was sound asleep, the man who pretended to be the woman took his knife and cut his brother-in-law’s throat. Then he threw the body out of the house. Now the two villages began to fight, and had a great battle. Some- times the Eagles were victorious, sometimes the Ganha’da. At last the Ganha’da vanquished the Eagle Clan, and therefore the latter fled. This happened on Copper River in Alaska. The people of the Eagle Clan took to their canoes, and escaped southward. They took with them their costly coppers and many elk skins, marten garments, and other kinds of property, and they left in more than ten canoes. After traveling three days, they came to a nice bay. They tied their costly coppers together to make an anchor. On the following day, when they pulled up the anchor, their line broke, and they lost ten coppers. They went on southward for many days. When they came to the mouth of the river, they took one of their expensive crests, a stone carved like an eagle, put cedar bark around it, and cast it out to serve as an anchor, and all the canoes gathered there. On the following morning they pulled up their carved eagle; but before they could take it into their canoe, the line broke. Then they would mourn over their loss. Again they started, and went on southward until they arrived at an inlet, up which they went. There they camped. ‘They were glad to have escaped from their enemies, but their hearts were heavy because they had lost their carved eagle and their coppers. In the great battle they had lost their princes, and they had to leave a part of their property in the houses. They were going to make this inlet their new home. On the following day three of their young people went out in a canoe across the inlet; and when they reached the foot of a steep cliff, behold! a large halibut came up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the canoe with the three persons—two princesses and one prince. The people on the other side saw it. Therefore two of their brave men went to kill the monster who had devoured their prince and their princesses. They crossed the inlet in their canoe, having their large knives tied to the right wrist. As soon as they reached the foot of the steep rock, a halibut came up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the canoe with the two brave men; but as soon as the halibut had swallowed them, they cut it inside with their knives. They cut up its intestines until it died. Then the supernatural halibut felt the pains in its stomach, jumped out of the water, and struck the water with its tail, It swam around the inlet, and finally ran ashore and died there. Then those who had remained alive went down to the beach, and saw that the great supernatural halibut was dead. They cut it open, and saw the two canoes and five persons. Then they sang their mourning-song. 9'72 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [mrm. ANN, 31 Before they left their camp, one of their princes went up into the woods to refresh himself, for he was in deep sorrow. He went on and on until he came to a plain. There he found a large lake. He stood on the shore of the lake, weeping, on account of his brothers who were swallowed by the supernatural halibut; and while he was weeping there, he heard a noise. He looked up, and, behold! there was a large beaver on the water, with copper eyes, copper ears, copper teeth, and copper claws. It struck the water with its tail, making a noise like thunder. Then the young man went back to the camp, and told his people that he had seen a large beaver in the lake above their camp. On the following morning they went to hunt the large beaver. Soon they came to the lake, but they saw nothing. Everything was quiet. While they.were still standing there, they heard the sound of a drum, followed by a mourning-song; and after a while they saw the large beaver come out of the water, with copper eyes, copper claws, copper ears, copper teeth. They agreed to kill it, for they needed the copper. Therefore they tried hard to break the dam in the large lake. After many days they succeeded. Before the lake was dry, the beaver came out. The men killed it and skinned it, taking off the copper claws, the ears, eyes, and teeth! As soon as they had killed it, they went down and took the beaver to be their crest, and therefore the Eagle Clan use it now. No other clan can use this large beaver. When the head chief Legé’°x makes a great potlatch, he wears it on his head, and four head men take hold of the headdress, and one of each clan, so that the people may know that he alone is the head chief of all the Tsimshian. They always kept the beaver hat in their family. 42. Tor Water Berna Wuo MaArRiED THE PRINCESS? (There are a great many stories of human beings who made wonder- ful marriages, telling how a prince or princess was taken away from the old town of Metlakahtla, where, after the great Flood, all the villages of all the tribes took their beginning.) A great chief lived there, who had a very beautiful niece, a young princess, whose name was Sagapgia. This princess was very much beloved by the young women of her uncle’s tribe. One day in summer, when the salmonberries were ripe on Skeena and Ksdal Rivers, many young women of one tribe, of a Raven town, took a large canoe. The canoe was full of young women, and the princess Sagapgié was among them. She was sitting in the center of the large canoe. They have to pass a slough (?) near the mouth of Skeena River, and there is a great sandbar which they saw in front 1 Ina letter, Mr. Tate says that the beaver’s mourning-song contains only one word—‘‘ beaver-in-his- house-of-the-lake.’” * Notes, p. 834. Ross] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS PH) of the canoe off the mouth of Sandy Bay Creek. They went with the tide, and therefore the canoe was very swift; and when it was near the bar, they saw a mass of foam over the sandbar; and while the young women went across the foam, they paddled very hard; and when they had passed by, they found that they had lost the princess out of the canoe. The canoe was full of foam where she had been sitting. Then they cried for her sake. They made a camp at Autumn Camp, which is now named Port Essington. There they waited for the tide to turn, and when the tide was out, went home and told all that had happened to them. Then the wise men said that the supernatural being of Sandy Bay had taken her. Therefore the great chief, her uncle, called all the shamans from all the villages and paid them. The shamans said that the son of the great supernatural being of Sandy Bay had married the girl. Therefore the uncle of the princess sacrificed for her sake grease, crabapples, cranberries, dried berries, elk skins, costly coppers, garments of sea-otter skin, marten garments, abalone shells, canoes, and slaves. He made a great sacrifice. The young princess saw all these things, which came into the house of the chief of Sandy Bay, where she was sitting at the bottom of the sea. As soon as she entered the house of the supernatural being, Mouse Woman came to her side, and said to her, ‘Throw your woolen ear- ornament into the fire!”’ and when she had done so, the Mouse Woman took the burnt wool out of the fire, and asked the princess, “Do you know who has brought you here?” She said, ‘‘No.””—‘‘This is the house of a great chief of the supernatural beings. His son wants to marry you.”’ Thus said the Mouse Woman, and went away. When the sacrifices of her uncle came into the house of the super- natural being at the bottom of the sea, the young man loved her very much, for she was very beautiful. She staid there many years. She had ason, whom her father-in-law called Down The Useless River (Wa-medi-a’ks). When the boy was born, the grandfather took his forehead and pulled it, and he also pulled his legs and his hands and his body, and the infant was called by its grandfather Y !aga-gunu’ks Down The Useless River (Y!aga-watkda wa-mrdi-a’ks). — One day the supernatural chief was sitting by the side of his large fire with his back against the fire, his face toward the Useless-River a little above his house. He said to the Useless-River, ‘‘Send down to my daughter-in-law a baby girl!”’ On the following morning the princess had conceived; and when the time came, she gave birth to a baby girl. The chief made it grow quickly, as he had done with the elder child; and when the children had grown up to be a young man and young woman, the old chief invited all the supernatural beings’ of the rocks; and when all the supernatural beings came into the house, the great chief’s people served food to his guests. After 50633°—31 ETH—16 18 974 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pru. ANN. 31 they had eaten, the supernatural chief said to them, ‘‘My dear chiefs of the supernatural beings of all parts of the world, I will speak a few words to you. Let all my grandchildren’s people live! Don’t do them much harm, because many of them have been drowned in the river by you. Therefore I have invited all of you to my house.” Then all the monsters replied, ‘‘ Yes, we will do what you have said.”’ North Wind said, ‘‘I will not blow so often;’”? and South Wind said, “Neither will I;”’? and West Wind and East Wind said the same; and all the supernatural beings said the same. (Before the old supernatural chief had invited all the monsters to his house, many canoes were capsized on Skeena River and along the coast, for the supernatural beings in the water wanted to eat the dried berries which they carried in their canoes. Therefore many canoes were capsized by them.) After they had all said that they would not do any more harm to the people, they all went out, each to his own home. Now many days had passed, and the great chief said to his son, “‘Now, my dear son, let my grandchildren and their mother go back to their own home!”’ Therefore on the following day they started homeward; and when they arrived at the Raven town, they were all happy, and the tribe of the young princess’s uncle was full of joy because she was still alive. He invited all the Tsimshian tribes, chiefs, and other people to show them his two grandchildren, and he gave out their names. Then the young man and his sister did all they could to obtain animals of the woods and of the water. The young man was very rich, and he would give great feasts to his uncles’ people. In course of time his uncle died, and he gave a great feast to all the Tsimshian chiefs and to their people, and he took the name which his super- natural grandfather on the sandbar had given to him while he was with him in the town of the supernatural beings in Sandy Bay. He had called him Down The Useless River. Soon after he had given a feast to all the Tsimshian, he said to his mother, ‘‘Now I shall invite all the supernatural beings which were my supernatural grandfather’s guests when we were in his house!” and his mother said, ‘Do so, my dear son! Your supernatural father and your supernatural grandfather will help you.’’ Then the young chief sent word to a man of the tribe of Git-la’n of the Tsim- shian, who know how to make carved wooden dishes; and he sent word to the Gi-spa-x-la’°ts to make carved wooden spoons; and he sent word to the Grinax’ang’i’°k to make carved wooden boxes; and he gave order to the G-id-wul-g°4’dz to make deep wooden dishes with carving; and he gave order to the Git-dzi’°s to make carved horn spoons; and he gave order to the G-inada/°xs to dry much mountain-goat meat and tallow; and he gave order to the G-i-lu-dza’r boss] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 275 to pick cranberries and crabapples; and he gave order to the Gvid- wul-ksE-ba’° to make many hundred score of dried. cakes of hemlock sap; and he gave order to the G-its!ala’srr to dry many bundles of berries; and he gave order to the tribe of G-its!emga’lén to dry many hundreds of salmon, and to the women to make mats of the bark of the red cedar. This was two years before he gave the great feast to all the monsters or supernatural beings in the water. At the end of two years all the Tsimshian tribes brought the things they had made. The Gi- spa-x-li’°ts brought ten boxes of carved spoons, the G-it-la’n brought ten boxes of carved wooden dishes, the G-inax’ang’i’°k brought many carved boxes, the G-id-wul-g’4’dz brought ten large boxes filled with deep carved wooden dishes, and the Gvit-dzi’°s brought ten boxes of carved horn spoons, and the Ginada’°xs brought many boxes filled with dried meat and tallow, and the G-i-lu-dza’r brought many ° boxes of cranberries and many boxes of crabapples mixed with grease, and the G-id-wul-ksp-ba’° brought many hundreds of bundles of dried cakes of hemlock sap, and the Gvits!alai’spr brought many hundreds of bundles of dried blueberries and many boxes of cran- berries mixed with grease, and soapberries, and the G-its!emga’lén brought many hundred bundles of dried spring salmon and many hundred bundles of silver salmon. He sent word to the tribe of the Git-qxa’la to shred bark of the red cedar and to bring eagle down and tobacco, and he sent word to the G-it-q!a/°da to make blankets of yellow-cedar bark and to bring burnt clamshells. Now, the tribe of G-it-qxi’la brought many boxes filled with shredded red-cedar bark, ready to make into headdresses and necklaces; and the G-it-q!a’°da brought many boxes filled with yellow-cedar-bark blankets and cloaks ready to wear, and burnt clamshells; the Git-qxa’la also brought many boxes of tobacco. His own tribe, the Gidzexta’°t, took down their canoes and loaded them with all these goods. Many canoes were filled with the goods made by all the Tsimshian tribes. All these tribes used the same language. Now this young chief moved from the old town of Metlakahtla up to Nass River; and when he arrived there, he built two large houses just above the rock of Algusauxs. He built also another house for his mother. Then he sent out his young men and his sister with them in a canoe as messengers to invite all the supernatural beings of the rocks and from the water from all over the world. The canoe was away for ten days, and then came home. The days passed on, and not one of the guests had come to his feast. Then he and his sister went to their supernatural grandfather to ask him why all the supernatural beings had not come. The super- natural chief replied that they had not come, because one of: the 276 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eTH. ANN. 3l supernatural chiefs had not been invited by the messenger. There- fore all the other chiefs had not come. Thus said the supernatural chief to his grandson. He led his grandchildren to the place of the supernatural chief who had been missed by the first messengers. Then the two young people went back to Nass River, where they had come from. On the following morning they saw a great dark bar at Crabapple- Tree Point, below their camp. The prince said to his people, “Go, and flee into the woods, and don’t come down when floods of water swamp our houses and when floods of foam come! When the flood comes a second time, then you will know that they have left.’”’ Then all his people went into the woods on the hills behind the houses. Now all the monsters came up Nass River; and storms of wind were blowing that day, and floods of water came, and floods of foam ‘covered the houses of the young chief and of his mother and sister. Only these three remained in the camp. The fire of the great young chief who had invited the supernatural beings could not be extin- guished by the flood. The people who were in hiding behind the camp on the hill heard the voices of the young chief and his mother in the houses below, in the flood of water and foam that covered the houses. Then the wind and rain storm ceased, and the floods decreased, and the houses appeared out of the waters. Then. the young chief said to those that were high in the woods, “Tet all the young men come down and help me serve food to these chiefs!”” Therefore all the young men came down to their master; and when all the young men came into the chief’s house, they saw strange forms sitting around. Two of them were very ugly. The names of the ugliest two were Spagait-an-a’tk and K-knaaze. The name of another one was Kuwa’k. He was very good to look at. He always smiled when looking around. He was_ bald-headed. Another one was called K-feu-4’l. His hat and his blanket were full of arrows. Another chief was called Lax-an-batsa’xl. He wore a hat made of twisted cedar branches. Another chief was called Long Hands (Wut! ®-an’6’n); anotber one, Drift Log Enemy (WiLn- lnba’]-g’al-sdks); another one, Short Nose (igu-dzak). Others were named K-spr-ha/walk, K-ne-dep-wai’n, K-wil-g'ig'a’mk, K-wil-dza’n, Txam-a’x, Nlaks and his grandfather, K-ts!em-a’us, K-wi-ts!u- wanxl, Gradem nagai, Wa-medi-a’ks, K-sana‘il, K-sbaxt, K-gwilax- la’k, (Wil-grigva’mk), Wil-g’amk-ga-a’ks, K-n-ts!ahd’mt, K-sbahi, K-eutisg’’t. : All the supernatural beings wore their crests on their heads and on their garments. Therefore when all the young men came into the house, they saw the wonderful things that the guests of the young princess had. The young chief took his new name, Down The Useless River (Y laga-watkda Wa-mEdi-a’ks), and his sister took BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS PACT the name Killer Whales Are Ready To Go Up (Wi-alas-latk-gul-néxI- al-yo). After the two had proclaimed their names, the young man helped the chief serve the dried salmon and the other food. They put it into the carved dishes, which they placed before the guests. After a while the young chief said, ‘‘Throw all the carved wooden dishes into the fire!””? The young men did so; and when all the dishes that were filled with roasted dried salmon were burned, the chief said to his attendants, ‘‘Take the deep carved wooden dishes and put the dried berries into them!’’ They did as they had been told; and after they had eaten the.dried berries and salmon, the fat of mountain goat was thrown into the fire. After they had eaten the berries mixed with crabapples and cranberries, they filled the carved square boxes and threw them into the fire with the carved wooden spoons; and when the monsters had eaten dried blueberries mixed with crabapples, they looked at one another with smiling faces. Then the chief said to his attendants, ‘‘Now grind the roasted hemlock bark!’ They did so, and mixed. it with hot water and grease and with cranberries, and placed them in carved boxes. They put one spoon in each box—a nice carved mountain-goat-horn spoon. They threw these also into the fire: the carved boxes, wooden dishes, and spoons which all the Tsimshian tribes had made for two years before the feast. They cast everything into the fire with the food. After the food had been served, the chief piled up many elk skins, marten garments, raccoon garments, weasel garments, and others, and goat fat, tobacco, ocher, and costly coppers. He gave them away to all these supernatural chiefs. Then he said to all his guests, “‘T want these two chiefs to take their place way back of Canoe Pass, because these two chiefs are so hard for human beings to pass.’ Then all the monsters consented to what Down The Useless River said. That is the reason why these two chiefs, Spagait-an-a’tk and K-knaaze, left their places. : On the following day the young chief said to his attendants, ‘‘My dear young men, now go and flee again up the hills!” So they went into the woods up the hills and mountains. Then the wind blew harder and harder. The flood came, and the houses were covered with foam and water, and it was storming the whole night. On the following morning the wind ceased, for Chief K-gazoun poured his seal oil on the water, and it was quite calm; and when all the monsters were gone, the chief’s people came down to their camp; and they saw that the chief’s house was carved with the great starfish covered with costly abalone shells, and the other house was carved with a large bullhead with live children on its back, with beautiful green abalone shells in the eyes and fins. These two carved houses were given to the chiefs by the monsters. Then all the people of the chief’s tribe loved their master very much, and the chief and his sister also loved their people. 278 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ayy. 31 43. THe Story or Part SuMMER! In olden times there was a very happy people in the village of Grits!emga’lén. They lived in a very pretty town of three rows up the Grits!emga’l6n River. I called it the Three-Row Land, for the village was built in three rows. They built their houses on top of the hill, the second row under the first, and the third row under the second one. The town was on the bank of a river, a very good river, and the village was not far from a very large lake. They went there very often in the summer for picking berries of all kinds, which were growing along the sides of the lake, which was their hunting- ground. Sometimes the people would live there in summer for dry- ing berries for winter use, and in winter the hunters would live there. Therefore they built their little huts on the shore of the large lake. Many families had several huts for use in the proper season. There was a great chief in this village who had five children— four boys and one girl—whom he loved very much. In those days the people of each tribe were in the habit of going for one or two days to catch salmon to be given to the chief, who was to use them in the winter; and in the winter the people would often go to the chief’s house, and the chieftainess would feed them. So the people caught salmon for their chief, and the women worked for their chieftainess. They would go some days and pick berries for her. The chief and his wife did not work for themselves. The people worked for them. The chief also had many slaves, male and female, and he had many wives—many chiefs had as many as twenty, some ten, and others four—and these slaves and wives would work for the people, but the head wife did not work like the others. The four sons of the chief were very expert hunters, and the youngest one had two beautiful hunting-dogs. They were very useful dogs. One was called Red, the other Spots; and the girl liked the dogs very much. Her name was Part Summer.’ She was very dear to her brothers, for she was the only girl among them. One day the women of the village started out picking berries for the chieftainess, and the young princess wanted to go with them. So they started from their camp on the shore of the large lake; and when they came to the berrying-ground, they soon filled their bags with berries. The bag of the princess was not quite full yet, when she slipped, stepping on the dung of a black bear. She became angry, and said, ‘‘Oh, this big dung stuck on my foot! How nasty itis!” Thus said the princess. All her companions gathered around her and filled her basket with berries. Her basket was not as large as those of the others. Then they started for their camp; and as they went along, the carrying-strap of the princess’s basket tore, and all her berries were scattered on the ground. Her companions 1 Notes, pp. 747, 834. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 279 came and filled her basket again. They went on some distance, and again her carrying-strap tore. Then some of the women went away home. The berries were scattered on the ground and were mixed with dirt, but a few comnanions staid with her and gathered the berries. They went on, but again her carrying-strap broke; and her companions said to her, ‘‘Let the bags go! We have plenty of bags full of berries for you. You do not need those for yourself. Let us go on instead of gathering those berries, before night comes, lest the wild beasts devour us and we perish.” The princess, however, answered, ‘‘No, I will not leave my berries. Go right on if you want to.’’ When all the young women had left her in the woods, and she was alone there picking up her berries, behold! two young men came to her, and asked her, ‘‘What is the matter?” She told them that her carrying-strap tore several times. They asked her what had become of her companions, and she replied, “They would not wait any longer.” Then these two men asked her to let them carry her basket, and she consented. They took the basket of berries, and went on until they arrived at a village that was unknown to her. She was standing outside a large house. Then the father of the young men asked them, “‘Did she not come on with you, my sons?” They replied, ‘‘She is standing outside.’”-—‘‘Bring her in!” So two girls went out to get her, and took her into the house, and she was made to sit on one side of the fire. As soon as she was seated, a Mouse Woman came to her side, and asked her, ‘‘Don’t you know who has brought you here?” The princess replied, ‘‘No.”—‘‘The Black Bear brought you here, for you were angry when you slipped on the bear dung while you were picking berries. Therefore they brought you here. Now take good care. They will give you something to eat, but do not eat the first salmon that they offer you. It is the stomach of a human body.” Now the Bear people took good dried salmon and roasted it, put it into a dish, and placed it before the princess, but she did not eat of it. They took it back and ate it themselves. Then they took real salmon and roasted it. This the Mouse Woman had said was real salmon, so she ate of it. The Mouse Woman had told her also that they would offer berries mixed with crabapples, and that she was to refuse this. She said, “Tjon’t taste of it! That is decomposed flesh of a body, and the crabapples are the eyes of the dead person; but the second dish of berries mixed with crabapples will be good.” So she ate of this, and continued to do so. She became the wife of one of the sons of the Black-Bear chief. She staid there a long time, until the fall. Every morning the male Bears went for salmon, which they caught in the brooks, and the female Bears went into the woods to pick berries, and in the evening 280 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 they would all come home. Some of the male Bears would not come home with the rest, and some one said, ‘‘My companion’s fishing-line is broken.” Then a very old Bear would say, ‘‘Oh, perhaps he used the common bushes, and therefore it was broken. Cranberry bushes are the best for making fishing-lines.” After he had been away for two or three days, he would come back home downeast. This was because some person had killed a Black Bear near a brook. Some female Black Bear would do the same. When the rest came home in the evening, some one would say, ‘‘My companion’s carrying-strap tore;’’ and after she had been away several days in the woods, she came home slowly. Now, it was late in the fall before the animals went into their dens. Then the Black Bear chief invited his whole tribe in; and when all the people were in the house, he asked each family of his people, and said, ‘‘In what den will you lie down this winter?” Then one male Bear would answer, ‘‘ We shall lie down in the den of So-and-So,”’ and he mentioned the place where the den was. And after he had asked every family for their dens, ‘then he turned to his eldest son, who was married to Part Summer. The Bear chief said, “Now I will ask you, my daughter-in-law, and my elder son shall answer me, ‘In what den are you going to lie down this winter?’ ” Then his son replied, ‘‘We shall lie down in the den of Mountain Beautiful.”” Then the princess said, ‘‘Oh, it is very easy for my younger brother’s dogs, Red and Spots!” Therefore her husband asked, ‘‘What do you say to the den of Mountain Side ?”’—‘‘Oh, it is easy for the dogs Red and Spots!’’ He mentioned all the dens he knew in every place; and the woman always said that it was easy for her younger brother’s dogs, Red and Spots. Therefore the chief said again to his daughter-in-law, ‘‘Do you want the difficult den Both Sides Rock Slide or Both Sides Drum?” This the princess accepted. She said, ‘‘That is the den that I wanted. It is difficult to get at.” Her father-in-law questioned her, and said, ‘‘How many brothers have you, daughter?”” She replied quickly, ‘‘I have four brothers.’ The chief asked, ‘‘Are they hunters?’’ The princess replied, ‘‘ Yes, they are. All of them are very expert hunters; therefore I do not like to choose an easy den to lie in this winter with my husband, lest they should kill us easily.’’ The chief said, ‘‘ Now I will ask you just one more question. How many mats has your eldest brother?” The princess replied, ‘‘My eldest brother’s mats are sixty.” Then sixty Black Bears hung their heads, and the tears ran down their noses. ‘‘Sixty mats’? meant that her eldest brother had lain sixty times twenty days by himself, using one cedar-bark mat, and that he had taken a bath every second day, that is, ten baths in each twenty days; and after each two Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 281 days’ bath he had taken away the mat and put it aside, and had taken a new mat for the other twenty days. So Chief Black Bear asked the young princess how many mats her eldest brother had; and these sixty Black Bears hung their heads, for they knew that they would soon be slain by the eldest brother of the princess. Therefore they hung their heads and cried. The Black Bear chief asked her further, ‘‘How many mats has your second brother?’”—‘‘My second brother has forty mats.” Then the forty Black Bears hung their heads, and the tears ran down their noses. Again the chief asked, “How many mats has your third brother?” The princess replied, ‘‘My third brother has twenty mats.” Then twenty Bears hung their heads, and the water ran down their noses. Again the chief asked, ‘‘How many mats has your youngest brother, princess ?’’—‘‘My youngest brother has five mats.” Then five Black Bears hung their heads, and water ran down their noses; and the princess’s hashes also hens his head, and the tears ran down his nose. After the chief had questioned them, he said to all his people, “Tomorrow you shall go all over the country and gather wild carrots for your own use in your dens for the winter.” Then the old Bear said, ‘‘We shall lie down under old fallen trees;”’ and the chief said to his people, ‘‘As soon as you hear the thunder rolling, then each shall go to his own den, lest danger come upon you.” On the following morning all the Bear people went out; and soon the thunder was heard rolling, and each Bear family went to its own den. Now the eldest brother was prepared to go hunting. He had been away for a month in the mountains, sds had sueseeded in Julling sixty black bears. He went home, and the second brother was ready to go hunting. He staid in the mountains for a month, and then went home, having killed forty black bears. When the third brother was ready to go, he left home, and staid in the mountains a month, and then went home, having killed twenty black bears. Then he came home. Now the youngest brother was ready, and went with his two dogs, Red and Spots. He went on and on, and did not find anything. He went farther on. Many days had passed and he had not killed anything. So he stood at the foot of a mountain, crying, and thinking of his sister that was lost the preceding summer. While he was erying, his two dogs raised their noses and went up a mountain with a rock-slide on each side. Soon they came up to a 1They used this custom when they wanted to have success in hunting. Original: Ada laxst a gi’plelda sa’°t & kp!é/lda laxst & mela-k!g/rElda sa°t hi-ga’odi k!erelda laxst. Dat gik lli-g4’ nakst ligi ami dze wa-na’kst dat ga ligi-lep-wila’s hana’°gat ana ‘gat, adat da’mgert; dit hi-sa-ba’ gd/°plrlda sa/°t laxst gant sil-na’kga hana/gat; dat ksa-ga-sgant at ma ‘gat. Adaam tsel-ma ‘gat. Adat gik ga&° su-sgant a gik k!n’relda gidis sa° 982 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 place where a few trees were. The young man heard the dogs barking up there. Then he stopped erying, and looked up to the place where his two dogs were barking. Then he saw them run about barking and wagging their tails. Therefore the young man tried to climb the mountain. He put on his snowshoes, which hunters use when they climb mountains, put the points of mountain- goat horns under his snowshoes, four horn-points on each side. Thus the young man was trying to reach the place where his' dogs were barking, and he was using his own staff. (Hunters’ staffs are seven or eight feet long, and have a horn at one end. They use these when they walk over sliding show, so that they will not slip.) He climbed; and it was very hard to go on quickly, for the snow was slippery. The dogs were still barking, but the young man could not go on any farther. He was always sliding back, for the snow was very soft. Alas! he stood there not halfway from the foot of the slippery snow, his face directed to the place where his dogs were barking. He was thinking that he could not get up there. Then he wanted to turn back. At this time his sister looked down at him. She stretched out her hand, took some snow, pressed it, and it rolled down. The young man saw the small ball of rolled snow coming down. It struck the front end of his snowshoe. The young man took it up and looked at it. Behold! there were the impressions of four fingers of some person in the snow. Then he tried again to climb up, and finally he reached his two dogs, who were still barking. They had their ears down and were wagging their taus. He came to the opening of a den; and when the dogs came to the place where the young man was, the princess recognized her brother’s dogs, Red and Spots, and the princess called them by their names Red and Spots; and therefore the dogs wagged their tails, and their ears drooped, for they knew her also. Still the dogs saw the Black Bear seated with her, and therefore they barked. Now the man came up, and he also saw his sister in the Bear’s den. Then the princess called him in, and she said, ‘‘ Wait, brother, until I give birth.” She gave birth to two children, and handed them to her brother, who was standing outside the den. So he took them and put them inside his hunter’s garment. Then the princess came out of her den, and said to her brother, ‘Now, my dear, do not kill your brother-in-law with knife, spear, or arrow. Just make a smudge in front of the den.” Then the young man said to his sister, “I will kill him;” but the princess said, ‘No, not so, my brother! Kill him, only do not use your spear if you kill him, that you may not die.’”’ Therefore the young man made a fire at the mouth of his brother-in-law’s den, and Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 283 the den was full of smoke. Soon they heard his brother-in-law groan in the den, and then they heard the groans cease. Now he put out the smudge, for he knew that the Bear was dead. The young man went in and drew him out; and while the body was lying at the mouth of the den, the princess sang a song. After she had sung, she said to her brother, ‘‘ Now, my dear, cut him up!” The young man just put his knife at the Bear’s chest, and she sang again the Bear’s mourning-song. Before the young man had reached the place where the den was, the Bear had taught the princess to sing this song as soon as he should die, and to sing it again when he was being cut up; and when they dried his skin, and when they roasted his heart, another song was to be sung; and when the skin had been dried, they put red ocher over it from the head to the tail, and they also put red ocher across it under the arms. The Bear had also said to his wife, the princess, ‘‘They shall put my skin by the side of a fire to dry it; and when you hear a creaking noise, you shall know that I feel chilly and shall add fuel to the fire.” Thus the Bear had told her. Now, after the young man had cut up the bear, he rolled it down the mountain, and slid down the snow as did his sister and the two cubs. They went right home. The young man was very glad to have succeeded in rescuing his beloved sister. When they arrived at their home, the people of the three-row town assembled to see the princess and her two cubs, and the people who saw her coming home shouted for joy and gladness. Her father gave a great feast and named his grandchildren. The children soon grew up. They were both boys. Every morning they played outside and in the houses; and when they saw little clouds arising in the hills, they would say, ‘‘There is the smoke of our Bear grandfather!”’ and then the hunters would go and kill bears. Many times they saw the smoke. One day they played in their grandfather’s house, running about and knocking each other down; and they ran around behind the people who were sitting around the fire; and her grandfather loved them very much. Another day they would get up again in their bed and run about in the house, knocking each other over. When they were playing together, one of them fell against their grandmother’s back, and the old woman fell back and fainted; and all the people in the house jumped up and worked over the old woman to revive her. She came back to life, but she felt distressed, and groaned, and said, ‘‘Oh, these little slaves have hurt me! We don’t even know where they come from.” 284 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eTH. ANN. 31 Then the children were much ashamed at what their grandmother had said to them. They wept bitterly, and the mother also was ashamed and wept. The children went to their mother and asked her to leave the village, saying that they wanted to go to see their father’s people. Their mother said to them, “‘Don’t come back any more, but stay with your father among the Bear people, and bring food to me from time to time, and give animals to your younger uncle.” So they went on their way, sorrowful. Their mother was very sad, and their grandfather missed them much. That is the end 44. EXPLANATION OF THE ABALONE Bow? In olden times there was a great chief of the Raven Clan called Ayagansk. He was a very rich man among his people, and he was a great warrior. He had gained victory in many battles, and he "was an excellent hunter. One day he called his three companions and asked them to go with him to hunt seals. On the following day they went out in their canoe. They passed around the large island on which the village was situated. The weather was very bad. They had a good-sized canoe, and went on until they came to the foot of a steep cliff. As soon as they came there, the water all of a sudden began to move up and down. Then a live abalone bow appeared on the water, carved with the figure of a raven, and inlaid with costly abalone shells. Then the hero stretched out his hands and took hold of it at one end. They paddled away. The brave man held on to the bow, and the three men paddled away as hard as they could. Then the live bow died, but the green abalone shells were still as beautiful as before. Ayagansk gave a great feast to all the tribes, and he gave away the red wood of the bow, and he proclaimed that no other clan should use the abalone bow as their crest; and so all his relatives after this generation kept the abalone bow, and no other clan have it except the Raven Clan. It is a chief’s crest, and they had a song of this bow. The chief of the Raven Clan used it when he was raised to a high position and he took anew name. Not all members of the Raven Clan used this bow. Only one chief in each generation used itat atime. When they take it, they give away many costly coppers, canoes, slaves, and all kinds of goods, and then they give out the story where they obtained it first, and thus all the clans understand it. Some of these abalone bows were kept through four or five gen- erations; and they changed them only when the wood was rotten, but the abalone shells were kept. 1 Notes, p. 835. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 285 45. Srory oF GUNAXNESEMG’A’D ! (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 147-192.) 46. STORY OF THE GANHA’DA? Once upon a time a man went out hunting in his canoe, but for three days he did not catch anything. On the fourth day he saw swimming on the sea a large raven, which was flapping its wings and diving and emerging again. Under the wings he saw many people. When he came back home, he built a house and painted on its front the sea raven (T's!em-a’ks?). 47. G°IT-NA-GUN-A’KS* A long time ago a hunter and his family lived in his own town. This was soon after the Deluge. The people were all scattered over the world. So it was with this family. They made their home on an island outside of China Hat. Once upon a time they set out to hunt sea otters, sea lions, and ‘seal. They left their new town. There were not many people at this time, but only a few. The name of this chief was Dragging Along Shore (Dzagam-sa’gisk). They went on many days, but they caught nothing. They were still looking for animals, but they were tired, for they had not caught anything. Therefore the head men in the canoe said, ‘‘Let us turn back to go home!” and they all decided to go back. As they were going along the channel, evening came; and when they came to the foot of a steep mountain, the steersman said, ‘‘Let us cast anchor here for the night, and stay until tomorrow morning!’’ They all consented, and the steersman cast his anchor-stone. Then they all went to sleep in the canoe. There were four men in the canoe. The head man slept in the bow, his two companions in the middle, and the steersman slept in the stern. They were all fast asleep. When they were fast asleep, about midnight, the hunter in the bow of the canoe was awakened by a noise which he heard around his canoe. Therefore he looked into the water, and saw a beautiful blue cod*® swimming around the canoe. Therefore the man, Chief Dragging Along Shore, was angry with the codfish,because he could not sleep well at night. He took her up and broke up her little fins. Then he threw her away, and said, ‘‘ You disturbed my sleep tonight!” Then he went to sleep again. He wrapped his blanket over his head, and soon was fast asleep. When the steersman had cast anchor, the anchor-stone had dropped on the roof of the house of a supernatural chief which stood at the foot of the steep cliff in the water at the bottom of the 1 Notes, pp. 747, 835. 4 Notes, p. 846. 2 Translated from Boas 1, p. 293.—Notes, p. 846. 5 A female slave of Na-gun-a‘ks. 3 This is a personification of the snag. 286 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 sea. Its name was Grit-na-gun-a’ks. Therefore the chief, Na-gun- a’ks, sent his slave to see what was the cause of the noise on his roof; and therefore his codfish slave went around the canoe, and the chief hunter broke her fins. The poor slave-girl came back to her master’s house weeping, and the chief asked her what was the matter. The poor slave replied that human beings had cast their anchor and dropped it on the roof of the house, and also that the chief had broken off both her fins. She wept bitterly. Then the chief said to his people, ‘‘Take the canoe down into my house.” Therefore they took the canoe down to the chief’s house at the bottom of the sea while the men were fast asleep in their canoe. While these four men were still sound asleep, the steersman felt a drop of water falling into his eye; so he opened his eyes, and saw that a sea anemone had fallen on them. Then he sat up, and saw that they were inside of a large house. Their canoe was on the highest platform in the rear of the house. Then he saw people sit- ting around the large fire in the bottom of the house. Then the ° steersman shook the canoe, and said in a whisper, ‘‘Alas! we are in danger.” All his companions awoke, and they all began to cry. They saw a great chief sitting in the rear of the house in front of his fire. After a while the chief said to his attendants, ‘‘Let my guests come down to the fire!” So they brought them down; and as soon as they were seated by the side of the large fire, the Mouse Woman came and touched the chief hunter. She said, ‘‘My dear, throw your ear- ornaments into the fire!”” Therefore Dragging Along Shore threw his woolen ear-ornaments into the fire. Then the Mouse Woman took the scorched woolen ear-ornaments, and said, ‘‘Don’t you know in whose house you are?”’ He replied, ‘‘No, I do not know.’’ Then she said, ‘‘This is the house of Chief Na-gun-a’ks. You cast your anchor-stone on the roof of his house last night. Therefore he sent his female slave, because he wished to know what caused the noise up there, and you have broken her fins. She was crying when she came in. Then he sent his attendants and took you down into his house. I advise you to offer him what you have in your canoe, lest you be in danger.’”’ Thus spoke the Mouse Woman, and went away. Chief Na-gun-a’ks said to his attendants, ‘‘Boil some seals, that I may feed my guests!’’ Therefore his attendants took four large boxes and four large seals. They put red-hot stones into the four boxes; and when the water began to boil, they put a seal into each box; and when the seals were done, Chief Na-gun-a’ks said, ‘Take one seal to each of the men!”’ They did so. Again the wise Mouse Woman came, and said, ‘‘Don’t be afraid when they bring you a whole seal! Just open your mouth wide, and ED a ED I BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 287 you shall swallow it. It will not hurt you. Tell your companions what I have said.” Those three men belonged to the crest of the Kaller Whale, while the steersman belonged to the Eagle crest. Then each man took up a pole. They took up a seal and brought it to the guests. One of the men who held the boiled seal at the end of his pole stepped in front of Dragging Along Shore, who opened his mouth; and the man who held the seal took it by the tail; and the chief swal- lowed the whole seal, beginning at the head. The second man stood in front of the next one, who opened his mouth and swallowed the whole seal. Finally the last man who had a seal in his hands at the end of the pole stood in front of the steersman, and said, ‘‘Open your mouth!” So the steersman opened his mouth and tried to swallow it; but the whole seal would not go down his throat, because he belonged to the Eagles. (The other three men belonged to the Killer-Whale crest, therefore they could swallow the whole seal; but the steersman belonged to the Eagles.) Now, Chief Na-gun-a’ks said to his servants, ‘‘Cut that seal to pieces, so that he may eat it easily.’’ Then they did so. The men had been there a whole year. Then the other super- natural being who lived on the other side of the sea would often say, “Let your guests come out!”’ Chief Na-gun-a’ks loved these human beings who had come to his house. So one day Chief Na-gun-a’ks said to his attendants and to his servants, ‘‘I will give a great feast to all my fellow-chiefs in the rocks. I will invite them, and will show them my human guests. After that I will send these my friends to their own home.’ His attendants consented, and there- fore he sent messengers all over the world to invite his fellow-chiefs, the supernatural beings of the rocks. The men did not know how long they had been there, and they never felt hungry. Before the monsters came into their host’s house, Chief Na-gun-a’ks said, ‘‘Get into your canoe, and you shall see what will come to pass!’’ Before they went aboard their canoe, Chief Dragging Along Shore said to his host, ‘‘Shall I give you a present ?” His master said, ‘‘Do so!” and he presented him with four coppers and the fat of mountain goat, and tobacco, with a box of grease and a box of crabapples and a box of cranberries, also with red ocher and eagle down. Na-gun-a’ks was very glad to have all these presents. His house was full of the things which Dragging Along Shore had presented to him. Chief Na-gun-a’ks sent them into their canoe after they had put away all the presents. Then the chief commanded that the door of his house be opened; and when it opened, the water rushed in. The house was full of water, and the canoe was floating on the first platform of the chief’s house. Then the waters subsided until the tops of the various kinds 288 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 of supernatural chiefs of the rocks were seen. Many different kinds of monsters were left dry on the floor of Chief Na-gun-a’ks’s house. The chief showed his guests all these monsters who had assembled from all parts of the country. Some of them looked nice, others curious, still others ugly, and others terrible. Chief Na-gun-a’ks himself wore his own garments in the form of the body of a killer whale, but the body was set all over with horns. Ties Chief Na-gun-a’ks said to his guests, ‘‘My dear scnpaten birual beings, I am anil: that you have all come to my feast. My brother, Dae Along Shore, and his two nephews, and his brother-in-law, Holdamia, came to my house several days ago. They brought me costly coppers and all kinds of provisions. I have kept them here for a whole year, and now I will send them to their old home as soon as possible. Therefore I have called you all. I wish to let you have what they gave me.’’ And after he had handed his gifts to all the monsters, he said again, ‘‘I will give him my own garment covered with horns, and my principal crest, the mermaid children going up the river, and my copper canoe, the copper stern-board, and copper paddles, and also my carved house.’’ Then all the monsters were much pleased on account of the gifts which they received from Na-gun-a’ks. He said also, ‘‘I would advise you, supernatural chiefs in the rocks, let not one of you, my dear chiefs, frighten my brother here, because he pleased us by giving us his provisions and costly coppers; and when you see him hunting, I wish that all of you may help him, so that he may have good luck. ” All the monsters of the rocks waa to what Chief Na-gun-a’ks said. On the following day the door of Chief Na-gun-a’ks’s house opened, and the water ran in rapidly, running through the open door. Again the canoe of Dragging Along Shore was floating above the first plat- form of the chief’s house, “hee a while the water subsided, and a carved room appeared on each side of the inside of the houses One side room was carved with two killer whales, with their noses joined together. It was called Dash Against Each Other. The room on the other side was carved with green seaweed, and there was a copper canoe with coppers and a stern-board of copper and a copper bailer. Then Na-gun-a’ks blessed Dragging Along Shore, and said, ‘‘ You shall receive everything you need in fas future in your land; ae do not hurt any fish, or anything that you may see in the water, lest you be in danger. When you go hunting, offer burnt-offerings. Then you shall have good luck. Come to this place over my house and offer me something, that I may help you right along. You shall go home tomorrow.” He also said to the steersman, ‘‘I will let you have my own hat,” and he gave him a large sea-apple shell with a living person in the BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 289 center with a face like that of a man, and a good-sized box inlaid with abalone shells. After he had given his presents to these men, he said, ‘‘Now go aboard the canoe and sleep there tonight.’’ They did as he had said. The men had always slept in the canoe ever since they had been in the house. Early the next morning the steersman awoke from his sleep, and, behold! there was a mountain of foam around the canoe. Therefore he called his companions, and said, ‘‘Alas! we are in danger.” They all awoke, and the mountain of foam became less. However, the men did not know how. The foam was changing into a thick fog, so thick that the men could not see one another in the canoe. Then their hearts failed. The steersman, however, encouraged his companions, who were silent from fear; and while they were still silent, they heard a noise like the rolling of thunder. The thick fog vanished, and there was bright sunshine. They looked at one another, and they saw that the hat of the chief in the bow of the canoe was full of all kinds of seaweed, sea anemones, and sea kale (?) of all kinds, and the hats of the other men in the canoe were just like his; and the canoe itself was full of seaweeds, sea anemones, and sea kales. Then the man at the bow said, ‘‘Take up your paddles and paddle away!’’ They saw that they were at the foot of the high cliff where they had dropped their anchor a year before. So they took their paddles and paddled away; but their paddles also were full of seaweeds, and were very heavy because they were made of copper. Dragging Along Shore said to his men, ‘‘Don’t pull the seaweeds off from the canoe, from the paddles, and from our clothes!’? Now they paddled on; and whenever the handles of their paddles touched the canoe, it sounded like a bell. The canoe went as fast as a bird flies, and at midnight they reached their own home. Early in the morning one of Dragging Along Shore’s elder sisters would come out and go to the east side of the village, wailing for her brother who had been lost the preceding winter. As soon as she came out this time, behold! there was a large monster floating on the sea in front of the village. She saw something that seemed alive on top of it, and it made a noise like a bell, boom! She ran in and called her husband, and said, ‘‘Alas! we are in dan- ger.’ Her husband arose and went out. He also saw the curious monster on the water. He inquired, and said, ‘‘Who is there?” Then they answered, ‘‘Was not a chief lost from here last winter?” They said, ‘‘Yes.’’ Then the men in the canoe replied, ‘‘We are coming home again safe.” Then the whole village was in excitement. All the people in the village went down to the beach to welcome those who had been lost a long while. Some of the people were afraid when they saw that 50633°—31 ETH—16——19 290 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [TH ANN. 31 their clothes were full of seaweeds, sea anemones, and sea kales, and that all kinds of shells were sticking to the canoe, to the paddles, the stern-board, and the bailer, that their root hats were covered with shells and seaweeds, and that everything in the canoe was that way. 4 Soon they came ashore. Then the young people wanted to take up the canoe; but they could not, because the canoe was made of copper and was very heavy; and two young men carried up their paddles, which were also made of copper; and when they had carried up everything, the four men themselves carried up the copper canoe, two men at each end. Now Dragging Along Shore sent messengers to his tribe to invite all his people. When they were all in, he told the story of what had happened to them on their way—how they had been in the house of a chief at the bottom of the sea, and how his host had invited all his fellow-creatures when he had given him his presents, and also how his host had given him his own crest. He showed his people a killer- whale hat covered with horns, and the garment of green seaweeds, and the two rooms with carved sides, also the copper canoe and paddles; and he told how Chief Na-gun-a’ks had given his brother-in- law a real sea-apple hat and a carved box-cover set with all kinds of shells, and how they had fed them with one seal each as soon as they had been taken down. After he had told his story, he asked his people if he should give a great feast and invite all the tribes around them. His people agreed, and he sent messengers around to invite the chiefs. On the appointed day all the chiefs came to his feast, and a crowd of canoes covered the water in front of his house. Then the head man of the village came out and called them ashore; and when all the guests were ashore, they called them in; and when all the chiefs were in the house, Dragging Along Shore asked every chief to wear his own crest, hat, and decorated garment. Therefore all the in- vited chiefs wore their own crests. When they had put on their own crests, Holdamia opened his carved box, the cover of which was inlaid with all kinds of shells, and thick fog filled Dragging Along Shore’s house. Then the chiefs from all the tribes were silent. They were afraid to speak. Soon after the thick fog had come out, Holdamia closed his carved box, the fog disappeared, and the chiefs looked around the inside of the house. They saw that it was now full of seaweeds, sea anemones, and sea kales, which were hanging all around the house, and the copper canoe was on the first platform of the house; and there was a carved room on one side, with a design of the two killer whales joined together by their noses, and named Dashing Against Hach Other; and on the other side of the fire a room appeared carved with green seaweeds. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 291 Dragging Along Shore wore his killer-whale garment covered with many horns, and the guests were also covered with seaweeds. Therefore Dragging Along Shore proclaimed that his family name would be G-it-na-gun-a’ks, and this name was to continue from him from generation to generation. Holdamia also gave a great feast to all the chiefs around, and he showed them what he had received from Chief Na-gun-a’ks. He held in his hand a copper paddle, and wore his sea-apple hat with a living person in the center. The abalone box was filled with thick fog. He also announced Na-gun-a’ks as one of the Eagle Clan. Now Dragging Along Shore prospered, for he was successful wher- ever he went hunting, and he could get many animals. His fame spread all over the world, and he was known to all the people round about his village, and he gave a great many feasts to the chiefs. He gave a feast almost every year, for he was a very successful hunter because he had the blessing of Chief Na-gun-a’ks. Once upon a time he went out again, as usual, to hunt, and three other men were with him in his canoe. They did not know his taboos, although Chief Dragging Along Shore told them that they must not touch any fish. He obtained all the animals he wanted. He found almost all the animals already dead, and on the way home dead animals or fish would float on the water in front of the canoe. They took them into the canoe. When evening came, they went ashore to seek a place in which to camp. They made their camp there, and took the animals and fish out of the canoe. When the young men who were with the chief carried up the goods from the canoe, they saw a large bullhead aground. They ran there together, and one of the young men took the bullhead and clubbed it; but the other said, ‘‘Leave the bullhead alone, we have plenty of good fish!” But the young man who took it first said, ‘‘No, I want to have it, for our chief said that we should take everything that we meet on the way.”’ The two others, however, compelled him to leave it. They took it from him, and laughed at the bullhead. They cut open both sides of its mouth to enlarge it. The other man, however, was sorry, and went to tell his master what the two other men were doing. Then the chief was angry, and said, ‘‘Oh, you two! You have brought us into danger!” He told the young man to go up the hill and look down to the sea before they rounded the next point. Then they took their canoe down, put aboard a few things, and paddled away from their camp to round the point; and the young man was sitting on top of a hill, looking down. His eyes were follow- ing the canoe. As soon as they went around the point, the young man who was sitting on top of the hill saw how a great whirlpool opened and how it swallowed the canoe. 292° TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [err ANN. 31 Then the young man left. In less than half a day he reached home, and told his people what had become of their master, and how he and the two others perished in the whirlpool. Dragging Along Shore now lived in the house of Chief Na-gun-a’ks; and the two other men who had laughed at the bullhead perished in the bottom of the great whirlpool, apewnce they had disobeyed the commands that Chief Na-gun-a’ks had given Dragging Along Shore before he sent him home, when he commanded him not to hurt any kind of fish. 48. Tor Four Curiers AND CHIEF GrizzLy Brar! A Jong time ago, before the Deluge, while the people were living on the upper course of Skeena River, there were four brothers, all chiefs. Each of them had a house. They lived in the old village Prairie Town, and their people were very proud of their four good chiefs, who treated them well. One hard winter, when all the food was used up, each of the four brothers made a fire in his house every morning to show the people that they were still alive, but others were starving to death. Many people were dying of starvation, and every day they made a fire to show that they had plenty to eat. One day toward evening a thin person came down the river on the ice, and the eldest one of the chiefs sent out his attendants to call him into his house. The man came in, and they spread mats by the side of the great fire, and the thin man seated himself there. Then the eldest chief, who had invited him in, inquired, ‘“ How long is it since you left your home?” The man replied, “It is many days since I left my home.’’—‘‘ What have you been eating all the while along the way?”’ The thin man replied, “I have eaten only snow all along the way.’’ Then the chief said, “ Bring in snow in a wooden dish!”’ and his attendants filled the dish and put it before htm. The man did not eat the snow, but arose and went out. Another evening the thin man came round to the village again, and they told the second chief that he was coming, so he sent out his attendants to invite him in. They spread mats by the side of the fire, and the second chief asked him, “ How long is it since you left home?” The thin man replied, “I left home many days ago.” The chief said, “What have you been eating all along the way ?”— “T ate only snow.’”’ Then the second chief ordered his attendants to bring in some snow in a wooden dish. They did so, and brought in a large wooden dish full of wet snow, and put it before him, and gave him a spoon; but the man did not eat. He arose and went out. Another day toward evening, while the young people were playing games, the leap 1 man came gor again from the woods. They told 1Notes, p. 847. poas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 293 the third chief that the thin man was coming down from the woods. Then the third chief sent out his attendants to invite him in, and the thin man came in. They spread the mats before him. He sat down on the mats, and the chief asked him, “Is your village very far away ?”’ The thin man said, “Yes, it is very faraway. I left there many days ago.’’—“ And what have you been eating all the way down?” He said, ‘I ate nothing but snow.”’ The third chief sent his attendants to bring in some snow. They did so in a large wooden dish, which they placed before him. The thin man did not eat, but arose and went out. The people were still dying of starvation. Another day toward evening the thin man came down from the woods. They told the youngest of the four chiefs, and he sent his servant and one of his own nephews to invite him in; and when the man came in, they spread mats by the side of the fire, and the man sat down. As soon as he was seated on the mats, the fourth chief said, “I have heard what my three brothers have done to you, my dear, and I am very much ashamed of what they have done. They have no pity. They did not show a kind heart to a stranger who comes and visits their houses. They are bad people.”’ Thus said the young chief. He said to his wife, ‘See if a dried salmon remains in your box!”’ Then his wife arose, went to the empty salmon-box, and there was only one large spring salmon left in the box. She took it to the fire and roasted one half. She put aside the other half. And after she had roasted it, she put it in a dish and gave it to the thin man. After he had eaten the dried salmon, the chief’s nephew soaked dried berries in water and mixed them with fresh red berries. They gave these to the thin man, and many kinds of provisions besides. After they had eaten, when it was nearly midnight, the chief said to the thin man, ‘‘ When do you intend to go back home?”’ The man said, “T will go back home tonight.’”” Then the chief said to his wife, “ My dear, give the other half of the dried salmon to this chief, that he may eat it on his way home!” So she gave him the other half of the dried salmon, of which he had eaten one part a little while ago. He went back the same night. Before he left he said to the chief and his wife and his nephew, “T am much pleased because you have shown me kindness, and you have given to me your last provisions in this hard season of starvation. You have taken pity on me. I have been to the houses of all your elder brothers, but they all made fun of me, and gave me nothing but snow. Therefore I will reward your kindness to me, and by tomorrow I will give you a costly crest. Early tomorrow morning, when you hear a noise yonder, take your canoe and go with your nephew and your wife. Let your three brothers come afterward. Then I will give you my present.’’ As soon as he had said so he left. 294 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 The chief and his wife did not sleep that night; and before day- break the young chief heard something like a song on the other side of the river. He arose, called his nephew and his wife, and said, “Let us be off!’ So they crossed the river; and when they arrived on the other side, at the foot of a rock-slide, they heard a shouting above. Behold! a man was coming down wearing four crests, a grizzly-bear hat, red leggings, and a bow in his hand. Another young man was coming down wearing a mountain-goat hat, and a woman with two large dishes—one carved with live frogs, and the other one with a mountain spring. Then they sang a mourning-song. The words of their song are these: ““Ai-yu’ wa hoo hi, yea, ha-ha—ha—a!”’ They repeated this many times. After the two had sung their mourning-song, the one took off the grizzly-bear hat and gave it to the chief, and he took off his red leggings and gave them to the chief, also his smew bow. The young man who wore the mountain-goat hat took it off and gave it to the chief’s nephew, and the woman gave her two dishes to the chief’s wife. Then they went up the rock-slide again and were transformed into three grizzly bears. Later on the three elder brothers heard a noise on the other side. They went across quickly in their canoes, but they were too late. They met their youngest brother on his way back, but the three elder brothers paddled across in vain. They came back empty- handed. Now the young chief became the richest among all his people. With his sinew bow he shot all kinds of animals; and while the winter famine lasted, he had plenty of meat of all kinds, fat of all kinds, and skins of all kinds. He fed all his people, also his three brothers, and all his people brought him all kinds of property as presents. Before the winter famine ended, he invited all the people of the river, and gave away property to them, and he put on his mountain- goat hat and sang one mourning-song while he piled up his property before it was given away. And this crest went on through all gener- ations throughout the ages. He made another feast and invited all the different tribes, and he wore his grizzly-bear hat and his red leggings, and he carried his sinew bow and sang the two mourning-songs which he had received from the grizzly bears who rewarded him for his kindness io the Chief Bear. Then his wife showed the guests her two carved dishes, which she also had received from the grizzly bears in return for her kindness; and the guests were delighted to see the new crests and to hear the two songs. Then the chief proclaimed that no one should use these crests and his mourning-songs, only his clan after him through all Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 295 generations. He also took his new chief’s name, which the grizzly bear had given him to reward him for his kindness. This name was Nés-nawa. The three brothers were jealous of their younger brother, but the people of all the tribes loved and honored him, and his name was great among the people. His own tribe was very proud of their chief, who was the richest among all the chiefs. When he was old, he went again to his hunting-ground; and while he was there, while they were encamped, in the evening, a man came to him, and the old chief invited him to eat with him. So they ate together; and while they were eating, the man said, ‘I will give you my mountain-pole. You shall keep it, as you did the other things which I gave you before.” Then the old man’s eyes opened, and he recognized him, and another song went with this pole. A small live man was seated at one end of the pole. When the old chief went home, he gave his last feast; and when all the guests were in, he took his new crest, the pole, and he sang the song of the pole. After he had given away all his property to his guests, he said, “This is my last feast, and this is the last time I shallsee your faces. I shall leave all my property to my only nephew, and also all my crests and my mourning-songs. He shall have all my power and my honor. He shall have my hunting-ground and my house, and he shall be kind as I have always been kind to my people.’ After that he gave his blessing to his nephew. Then he took a wooden drum, sang his mourning-song with all his relatives, and all the guests were sorry to hear his last kind words to his relatives. At the end of his song he lay down and died, and all the guests mourned over him for two days and two nights. His nephew succeeded him. (Another Version) Chief Dzéba’sa used the Prince Black Bear when he danced among the other chiefs in the winter dance. In olden times, when the people still lived on the upper part of Skeena River, in Prairie Town, there was a great famine among the people. ‘There were six chiefs in the village, and each had a house. During the famine the smoke continued to ascend from their houses every morning, but many of their tribe died of starvation. One morning in winter it was very cold. The Skeena River was full of ice, and snow, covered the ground. Then a stranger came along on the ice. He went into the house of the oldest chief, whose attendants spread a mat by the side of the fire, and the chief ordered his attendants to put fuel on the fire. They did so. Then the chief asked the stranger, ‘‘What kind of food do you eat down river?” The stranger replied, ‘‘I ate only snow while I was coming along.”’ 296 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eru. ANN. 30 So the chief ordered his attendants to bring snow in a dish. They brought in a large wooden dish filled with snow, and placed it before the stranger. Then the stranger stood up and went out. The stranger looked very poor. On the following morning the same stranger was seen coming along theice. He went into the house of the second chief, whose attendants spread mats for him by the side of the fire." Then the chief ordered his attendants to put fuel on the fire, and they did so. The chief asked what kind of food the stranger had eaten when he was coming down the river. He replied, “I ate only snow when I was coming along.’ So the chief ordered his attendants to bring in snow in a wooden dish, and they did so. They filled a large wooden dish with snow, and placed it before the stranger. The stranger went out without touching the snow. The third morning he was seen coming along on the ice. He went into the house of the third chief, and the same happened as before. Finally, on the sixth morning, the stranger went into the house of the sixth chief, who was a very young man. The six chiefs were brothers, and this one was the youngest of them. The stranger entered the house, and the young chief welcomed him. He said to his attendants, ‘“‘Spread the mats by the side of the fire.’”’ They did so, and they put fuel on the fire. The young chief had seen the meanness ‘of his five brothers to the poor stranger who had come to their village, and he had made up his mind to be kind to him and to comfort him. His wife arose, went to one of the boxes, opened it, and took out their last dried salmon, half of which she put back in her box. The other half she put in a wooden dish, and placed it before the stranger, who ate it. After the stranger had eaten, he said to the young chief, ‘‘ Very early tomorrow morning go to the other side of the river. If you should hear anything, you might go across. I will then give you a present.” The young chief did not sleep that night. Very early next morning he arose with his attend- ant. They crossed the river, and as soon as they came to the other side, they heard a mourning-song. Then the Prince of the Black Bears came down from the hills singing this song, and with three crests, red leggings, a mountain-goat hat, and a grizzly-bear hat, and he gave them to the chief in return for the half-salmon which he had eaten in the chief’s house the day before. Then the five brothers of the young chief quarreled with their younger brother. Since that time the Gispawadwe’da have the Prince of the Black Bears in their dances, with abalone shells in each ear and on each eye, and abalone shells on each tooth, and no chief besides Dzéba’sa can use Prince of the Black Bears. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 297 49. Gav’o! (Printed in Boas 13, pp. 193-226.) 50. STorRY OF THE G'*ISPAWADWE’DA? Once upon a time a man went out hunting mountain goats. He met a Black Bear, who carried him to his den. There the Bear taught him how to catch salmon and how to build canoes. Two years later the man returned home. When he arrived, all the people were afraid of him, because he looked like a bear. One man, however, caught him and carried him to the house. He was unable to speak, and did not want to eat boiled meat. Then the people rubbed him with medicine, until finally he resumed his human form. After this, whenever he was in difficulty, he went up the mountain to his friend the Bear, who would help him. In winter, when nobody was . able to obtain salmon, he would catch fresh salmon for him. Then the man built a house, and painted it with a picture of the Bear. His sister wore a dancing-apron with a representation of a bear. There- fore his sister’s descendants use the bear as their crest up to this day.’ 51. TsaupA AND Haus? There are many different tales belonging to the time after the great Deluge, when the people were scattered all over the earth, and when they had villages at Metlakahtla. There was a great chief who had a wife, and they had an only daughter who was very beautiful. In olden times people would love their children very much. So it was with this chief and his wife. They loved their only beautiful daughter. They did not let her go out often in the daytime, and all the princes in the village of Metla- kahtla wanted to marry her; but her parents would not let her marry, because they loved her dearly. She was quite young, and her father chose the daughters of his principal men to be her friends. Ten of these were chosen. Once a month throughout the year she would take a walk with the maids on the street of her father’s village, and all the young princes followed her when they saw her walking on the street. Now, the princess came to be a woman, and she wished in her heart to marry soon, before she should be old; and she lay in bed sleepless every night, thinking about this matter. Her bed was over her parents’ bed, and the beds of her maids were under hers. One midnight she thought that she saw a vision. She saw a shining light eome down through the smoke hole. It went to her, and she saw a young man in the midst of the shining light. He said 1 Notes, p. 847. 2 Notes, p. 855. ‘Translated from Boas 1, p. 293. 298 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ere ANN. 31 to her, ‘Shall I marry you, my dear princess?’’ She said that she would tell her father, and the prince promised to come back again some other night. So he went. This prince came from heaven. His name was Tsauda, and his slave’s name was Halus. This prince had a wonderful garment of shining light. The following night he sent down his slave to talk to the young princess to ask her to marry him. So his slave Halus went down to her. He went to her bedroom, going down through the smoke hole. He stood by her side, and the young princess smiled when she saw him coming back, as he had promised a few days before, and the slave Halus staid with her. The princess told the slave that her father had consented to their marriage. The princess thought that this slave was the prince with the garment of shining light who had come to her a few days before, so she loved him very much; and Halus ‘told her that he had a good slave, and that he wanted her father to give him a wife. The young woman said, ‘‘I have a little sister, but she is lame, and I want to take her along when you take me to your father’s house.” While they were still talking, a shining light came through the smoke hole, as before. Now the young woman was afraid, and Prince Shining Light said to his slave Halus, ‘‘What have you been doing here?”’ but Halus remained silent. Tsauda said, ‘‘ Everything that you do in the future will turn out badly, and you will be disap- pointed with your wife!” and Tsauda said, “T shall marry your lame sister, and she will have good fortune.” Then he went away. Halus, however, loved his beautiful wife. On the following day Tsauda came and put on his shining-light gar- ment. He came to the chief’s house, and the great chief was very kind to him. Soon after the chief had given him to eat, Tsauda said, “T wish your second daughter to be my wife.” The great chief replied, ‘‘My second daughter—she is lame!” but the prince urged his suit, so at last the chief consented; and Halus’s wife was laughing at Tsauda because his wife was lame. Tsauda, however, took no notice of what she said. After many days had passed Tsauda said to his lame wife, ‘‘I shall take you up to my father’s house, and I shall wash you in my wash- tub.” So on the following morning very early they went. Tsauda took his lame wife under his shining wing and flew upward. Now they arrived at Tsauda’s father’s house, and the supernatural chief was very glad to see his daughter-in-law. The supernatural chief took her and washed her four times in his own bathtub, and the lame girl shone almost as brightly as her husband Tsauda. ‘And Tsauda’s father gave to his son a magic sling and four sling-stones like pebbles out of a brook. Then Tsauda left his supernatural father’s house; and when he arrived at his fagher-in-law’s house, the latter was very BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 299 much pleased to see them come home again. His father-in-law was glad to see his lame daughter transformed into a beautiful woman as fair as her husband. He loved Tsauda more than his elder daughter’s husband. One day his father-in-law said, ‘‘Tomorrow, when my son-in-law Halus comes home, let him bring some firewood. I intend to invite my people. I want to tell them that I am going to invite all the chiefs from every village to the marriage feast.’ Halus awoke early in the morning and went for wood. He came to a sandy beach and gathered the driftwood there, filled his canoe quickly, and came back early in the forenoon. The great chief sent down his young people, and they carried the wood to the chief’s house. Tsauda just blew some water from his mouth, and said, ‘‘The driftwood that Halus brought will just smoke in the house.”” When the young men piled up the driftwood on the fireplace. it began to smoke very much. Halus’s mother-in-law loved him, while the chief loved Tsauda better. Now the mother-in-law’s eyes were full of smoke. There- fore she threw the driftwood away from the fire, and said, ‘‘Oh, that common man Halus brought this smoking driftwood!”’ and Halus’s beautiful wife began to ery, because she was very much ashamed. Early the next morning Tsauda went out to get wood; and when he reached a rocky place, he went up into the woods and brought down dry pitch wood. Soon he had filled his large canoe. His wife was with him. They came home during the forenoon, and many young men came down and e¢arried up the good firewood to the chief’s house. They piled it up on the fireplace, and the pitch wood burned like fat. Then the chief loved Tsauda still more, and the chief gave a great festival to all the fellow-chiefs from all the tribes because his two daughters were married. Early in spring all the Tsimshian were ready to move to Nass River for fishing; but the north wind was still blowing hard, and when they arrived outside of Port Simpson, they could not round the long point there. All the canoes of the Tsimshian were on the south side of the long point. So Halus said, ‘‘Tsauda, let us throw our sling- stones through that rock, that our way may open!” and all the people shouted because Halus had a magic sling. Then Tsauda said, ‘‘ You throw first, and I shall throw afterward!” Then Halus stood up on top of a large box and put his stone inasling. Tsauda blew water out of his mouth, and said, ‘‘Let Halus’s sling-stone pass through his mother-in-law’s lip-hole.”’ (What I mean by lip-hole is this. The old women in our country had a queer custom, that every woman should have a hole in her lip. When a girl was able to walk and had no hole in her lip, they would call her a slave. Therefore when a girl was able to walk, 300 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [wrH. ANN. 31 her parents made a little hole in her lip. They would call all men and women of their exogamic group, and the mother of the girl would give all she had to the husband’s relatives, the aunts of the child; and when the child was grown up, they enlarged the lip-hole; and when she was full-grown, the lip-hole was larger than her mouth. The highest chieftainess had a lip-hole larger than that of any other woman. This was a sign that she was of high rank. She was the wife of a great chief or the relative of a great chief.) Now Halus threw his sling-stone. Before he threw it, he swung his sling over his own head, and the stone slipped off from his sling and went through the lip-hole of his mother-in-law. Then all the people shouted and clapped their hands. Next Tsauda stood up and said, ‘‘Let me try to use my poor sling!” So all the people were quiet. He took up his sling and a smooth pebble out of his bag. He threw it, and there was a large hole through the rock, and the way was opened for them to pass through. All the canoes went up through it. Before they reached their fishing-camp, the chief said, ‘‘I need that copper yonder on the top of the high mountain.’ Therefore all the canoes assembled at the foot of the high mountain. (That large copper was hanging on top of that high mountain. For many years they had seen it, but they could not get it. Many daring men tried to take it, but they all perished, because no one was able | to climb the slippery rock. Copper was then very expensive among the people. Therefore they tried over and over again, and they could not get it because the rocks were so slippery and the top of the mountain was very cold. Therefore all the brave men perished on that mountain.) Now Halus was ready. He stood up in the canoe and took out his sling and a stone, ready to throw it. Then Tsauda blew out some water from his mouth, and said, ‘‘Let Halus’s sling-stone go through the bow of his father-in-law’s canoe!” and when Halus swung his sling, the stone slipped out and went through the bow of his father- in-law’s canoe. Then all the people clapped their hands and shouted as much as they could. Now Halus had twice disappointed them. They said, ‘‘Oh, oh, you clumsy one!’’ Halus felt very much ashamed, and his wife cried, and also his mother-in-law was much ashamed; and Halus was angry and threw away his magic sling. Tsauda put a stone in his sling, stood up on a box, and threw a stone. It hit the large copper on the top of the high mountain: ‘‘Dammnn!” Then all the people shouted for joy, and the great copper came sliding down slowly. Then all the men and women stepped forward and blew water out of their mouths against the copper, and said, “Toward northwest!” and ‘‘Toward the rivers!’”? and when the men and women spoke these words, the large copper, which was sliding BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 301 down slowly, divided in the middle; and one part flew away to the northwest (Alaska), and another part flew away to the head of Copper River (the head of the rivers). This is the reason why good copper was found in Alaska long before the white people came to this country, and that good copper was also found at one of the head waters of Skeena River. Our people call this copper “‘living copper.”’ (They say that a spring salmon went up this river; and when they reached the deep water at the upper part of the river, the salmon ‘became copper. Therefore the Indians know that there was live copper in this brook or river.) After Tsauda had thrown the copper from the top of the high mountain, they went on until they arrived at their camping-place, and made ready for fishing; but somehow the fish were late in coming. When the time had come for the fish to arrive, the river was full, and everybody went out to fish. The men had their wives with them in the fishing-season. (When the fish first go up the river, the Indians use wooden rakes. The man sits in the bow of the canoe, and the woman sits in the stern to keep the canoe straight, and to steer it quickly among the many canoes. They use large canoes, and in half a day they fill them with olachen. The men work day and night with the rakes. They went with the tide until eight days had passed. Then they changed their fishing-implements. They put away the rake—a wooden rake made out of dry red cedar, and pins made out of large rotten spruce branches. The inner part of the branch is very hard. They split it and sharpen it like the point of a pin. They are three fingers long. Then they change these rakes after eight days, and they use the bag net, because the olachen goes farther down in deeper water. Therefore they use the bag net. They put the bag net at the end of a pole five fathoms long, and everything thus. Two or three people are in each canoe. The man holds the net-pole, and his wife and the man’s sister or mother are with them.) Now Halus was very proud because he had a beautiful wife, and he showed her among the people on the fishing-ground. He did not care much about the fishing. When the fishing-implements were changed, the chief said to his elder daughter, ‘‘ Let your husband fill one canoe for me tomorrow, and one for each of your three uncles, and Tsauda shall do the same.”’ The following morning they both set out. Halus went very early with his wife and mother-in-law, and Tsauda went with his wife and one female slave. Tsauda went a little later. Halus went among the canoes which were full of fish. Then Tsauda blew water from his mouth, and said, ‘‘Let Halus’s bag net be filled with mud of the river, chips, and whole leaves from the trees, but let him not get any fish!”’ Halus took his pole with the bag net on it and went to work; but 302 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY ; (ern, ANN. 31 every time he let down his bag net, it came up full of mud from the river. Tsauda, however, filled his large canoe with fishes, and they went home early. Many slaves carried up the fish to his father-in- law. As soon as they had emptied the large canoe, they went again the same day, and toward evening Tsauda came home again. Then his father-in-law’s slaves carried the fish to his father-in-law. He had two large canoes full of fish, which he gave to his father-in-law. Late in the evening the chief’s other son-in-law came home secretly. That was Halus. Before daylight Halus went again with his wife and his mother-in-law; but he caught nothing, only leaves and mud. Tsauda went again with his wife and a female slave, and before noon he had filled his large canoe with fish. Tsauda met Halus while he was going home, and Halus’s bag net was full of leaves, mud, chips, and all kinds of rubbish; and when Tsauda came alongside his canoe, Halus was ashamed to see Tsauda’s canoe full of fish. Now Tsauda gave his fish to his wife’s elder uncle; and soon after he had eaten in the house of his wife’s uncle, while the slaves were still carrying up his fish, Tsauda started again. He passed the place where Halus was, and he made fun of him. ‘‘Have you filled your canoe now with fallen leaves?” Halus felt very much dis- tressed on account of what his master said. He cried, and his wife also was sad, and so was his mother-in-law. Tsauda went in his canoe twice in one day and filled it with fish. He gave one canoe to his wife’s second uncle. On the following morning Tsauda went early; and when he was fishing, his bag net was filled with fish. Just as before, his canoe was full again. Halus came toward him, and said, ‘‘Master, will you let me have some of your fish to take in my canoe?” Tsauda replied, ‘‘ Wait until the season is over.’”’ Therefore Halus was much ashamed. Hestood up and jumped out of his canoe, and said, ‘‘T shall become your snag.’ He was drowned. His wife also jumped out of the canoe, and said, ‘‘I shall be your codfish.”’ Tsauda continued to work with the bag net. Halus went to Tsauda’s bag net and caught it. Tsauda’s net was caught. Tsauda knew that Halus had caught his bag net. Therefore he said, ‘‘Halus, let go of that net! If you don’t let go of it, I will curse you.” But Halus did not want to let go. Then Tsauda cursed Halus, and he became a red cod. He told him that his head would always be downward and his tail upward, and that if he looked up, then his stomach would come out through his mouth and he would die and float on the water. That is why the red cod is this way now. As soon as it looks up, it comes up to the surface of the water, for its stomach comes out through its mouth. Halus’s beautiful wife became a codfish, a blue-side cod, which is a beautiful fish. Tsauda caught her in his bag net, and he recog- Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 3803 nized his sister-in-law. As soon as he saw her among the olachen, he took her out and threw her into the water again. That is the reason why the blue-side cod is the prettiest of all the fishes, for it was a princess. Halus’s mother-in-law was very sad because she had lost her beau- tiful daughter. She came home full of sorrow; but, for fear of her son-in-law Tsauda, she did not dare to look angry, lest he transform her into a fish. Now Tsauda’s wife was with child, and gave birth to a beautiful daughter. Tsauda said, ‘“‘This is my sister-in-law come back again through my wife;”’ and the girl had four holes in each ear and a hole in her lip and in the septum of the nose, as a sign of her high rank. Then they gave her a baby girl’s name, Another Dear Girl (G-ik-lu- da’°tk). Tsauda gave this child to his mother-in-law, and she took comfort because her daughter had come back to her again. She loved her more than her own daughter whom she had lost. Soon the people had finished boiling their fish, and they moved down to their village. Tsauda’s father-in-law also moved; and when they arrived at home, Tsauda said to his father-in-law, “Soon T shall go away to my own home with my wife. When she has another child like herself, I will come again and give it to you, so that you may have another girl like the one you had before. You shall call her Moon.” On the following day Tsauda went away to his father’s home with his wife; and when he arrived there, his own father was much pleased to see his son and his wife; and after they had been there a while, Tsauda’s wife gave birth to another child, and Tsauda took the child and gave it to his mother-in-law, as he had promised before he left them. When Tsauda and his daughter flew toward his father-in-law’s home, the child was grown up to be a woman; and when Tsauda arrived there, he took her out from under his wings, and a young woman came out, whom he handed to his mother-in-law. They received the child joyfully, and named her Moon, as Tsauda had requested. These two girls grew up to be very beautiful young women, like their lost aunts. Tsauda, however, went, and never came back again. His wife also never came back. This is a story of the Wolf family. When the elder girl was married, she told her husband that her father, Tsauda, told her of a good copper in the Copper Creek at the head of Skeena River. Therefore the prince called his three young men to go with him to see the good copper at the head of that creek; and when they were going in their canoe up the river, they smelled sweet-smelling scents; and when they went farther up, they smelled still more fragrant odors; and they went on and on, and the 304 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 odor was sweeter than ever. Before evening they camped, and the prince went into the woods; and as he went through the valley, he saw something standing in the middle of a nice plain, moving and waving. He went near it, and he saw that it was a live tree of odors. So he ran to it and embraced it, and all the branches of the tree also embraced him, and the living tree pressed him hard and squeezed him; and before he lost consciousness, he shouted, to call his men to come to his help. They ran quickly, and saw the prince and the living tree of odors embracing each other. The prince said to his men, “Dig away the earth from the roots quickly.”” The men dug away the earth quickly; and when all the roots were out of the ground and the branches were dead, the prince was released from the branches. All the branches let go of his body. This is the tree of odors, or the live tree. This prince was very successful, because he was married to the daughter of a supernatural being. He cut the tree into short pieces, and he also cut the branches and the roots, and he gave to each of his men one root; and his men filled their bags with the soil from the place where the tree of odors had been, and when they came back home, they sold them for a high price. Then all the chiefs from all the tribes came to buy one of the short pieces at a high price, and the princes and the princesses came and bought pieces of the tree of odors, and the prince became a great chief. Then the younger daughter of Tsauda said to her husband, ‘‘My dear, my father has told me that there is a good copper at the head of a creek;”’ and the husband of the younger one called his young men to go with him up there. The following day they set out and went up that creek, and night after night they camped. That young prince went walking along the bank of the river, searching for smooth copper pebbles; but he could not find any, because the time had not come yet. They traveled on many days, until they reached a place way up the river, and toward evening they camped there. There was not much water in the river, and they could not travel on by canoe, because three small brooks joined where they camped, and at this place the deep water ended. The young prince walked along the bank of the river. - Then he saw many salmon. He hastened back to his men, and told them that many salmon were in the deep water there. Therefore he took his salmon-spear and went down again, while his men started to light a firein the camp. He went down, and stood there ready. When he saw a large salmon come up, he struck it and took hold of it. He dragged it up to the shore and clubbed it. Then he took out his dart and threw the salmon backward. So the salmon struck the smooth stones of the river-bank. It sounded like copper. Then the young prince went to the place where he had thrown the salmon. He took it up again to see if anything was under Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 305 it, and, behold! the salmon was transformed into copper. So he took it up to the camp of his men and showed it to them, and they were all very happy. In the night they got ready for the next morn- ing. They spent the whole night making a new pole and new darts to be used the next day. Before daylight they all went to sleep, and the prince took his copper and put it under his head as his pillow. Late on the following morning, when the sun was high in the sky, the steersman woke up and aroused his fellows; and when the breakfast was ready, they called the prince. Then they found that he was dead. They wept over him; but the wise man said to his fellows, ‘He died because the live copper killed him. Let us burn it!” Thus said the steersman. They threw the copper into the fire to be burned, took the bark of a dried spruce tree, and started a large fire, and the live copper was melting; and when the fire had gone out, the pure copper remained in the ashes like a pole. They saw that the copper was very good and soft. They took it and put it into a bark bag, took the prince’s body down to the canoe, wrapped him in a new cedar-bark mat, and carried him in their canoe down the river. When they arrived at home, and the prince’s wife saw him dead and saw the melted copper, she felt very sad. She went into the woods weeping for her husband. While she was sitting at the foot of a large white-pine tree, she heard a noise on the tree above, and saw a shining light. There was aman who came down from the top of the white-pine tree and smiled at her, and said, ‘‘My dear daughter, what ails you?” She said, ‘‘My beloved husband is dead.’”? And Tsauda replied, ‘‘Don’t feel sorry for him! If you want him alive again, I will resuscitate him, my dear daughter!”’ Now, Moon knew that her father had come down to visit her. Therefore she stopped crying, and said, ‘‘Bring him back to life for my sake!’’ Tsauda said, ‘‘Call out all the people, and I will bring him back to life.” So she went into the house. She sent out all the people. Tsauda came in and took the cold water of life from the spring and sprinkled his face with the water. He slapped the dead man on both cheeks with the palms of his hands, and said, ‘‘Come back to life from death, son-in-law!”’ and the prince sat up, and his wife came to him and embraced him. Then Tsauda said, when the young man was alive again, and when all the people had come into the house, ‘‘Be careful of the living copper of that river! Let nobody go there, but my son-in-law and his descendants! I shall teach them how to kill the live copper and how to make costly coppers. Then he shall teach his children as I taught him.’ Thus spoke Tsauda to the people; and when his speech was at an end, he called his son-in-law aside, and also his 50633°—31 ErH—16 20 306 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pr. ANN. 31 youngest daughter, and told them how to kill the live copper. He said, ‘‘As soon as you catch the salmon coppers or live coppers, make a large fire and throw the salmon coppers into it, as many as you caught in one evening at your camp. You must throw them all into the fire, and the fumes will not hurt you, but it will make you richer than any chief in the whole world; but if you tell these high commands to some of your relatives or friends or to your tribe, you shall become poorer than ever, and those to whom you have told my secret shall become rich. Let nobody go with you to that river!— only you two, you and my dear daughter. She shall go with you; and if she has some children, then you shall take them with you; and whoever goes there without your consent, he shall die by the fumes of the live coppers.” After Tsauda had given this advice to them, he said to his favorite daughter, ‘‘Now, my dear, go with me to the foot of that white-pine tree!”? and when they reached there, he told his daughter, ‘‘ You shall eat the pitch that covers this white-pine bark as a medicine against the influence of your copper-work. You shall rub it over your hands and face before you take the live copper.” As soon as Tsauda had said this, he flew up to his supernatural home. Then the prince and his wife went up there for coppers. He did all that his father-in-law had commanded him to do, and he was the first copper-worker among the natives. He became richer than any chief round about, and his fame spread all over the country. Chiefs from all the different tribes came to buy his costly coppers with many thousands of costly animal skins, and canoes, slaves, boxes of grease, costly abalone shells, and all kinds of things. So this prince was great among all the chiefs. He gave away many times costly coppers, male and female slaves, elk skins, and all kinds of goods. At his last great feast he mvited the chiefs of all the tribes, and they proclaimed that he should take his great grandfather’s name, Around The Heavens, and all the chiefs said that he should be the head chief. 52. STORY OF THE WOLF CLAN! There were two villages in the Strait of Metlakahtla. One was inhabited by the Eagle Clan, the other by the Wolf Clan; and they were on friendly terms, for the chief of the Eagle Clan was married to the princess of the Wolf Clan, whose name was Bidal. The chief’s name was Nés-wa-na’°. Once upon a time these two friendly people agreed to build a weir between the two islands, so as to catch seals and fishes at low tide. After they had finished the weir connecting the two towns, they made an agreement that whoever should awake first in the morning should go down and take something caught by the weir. The people 1 Notes, p. 857. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 307 of the Wolf Clan would go down first almost every morning. There- fore the chief of the Eagle Clan was angry with his brother-in-law’s tribe, and war began between them. The Eagle Clan gained the victory over their enemies, and the chief killed all his wife’s relatives. Then he took the weir as his own. Therefore his people went down every morning and brought up sometimes seals or halibut or other kinds of fish. In the other village only women and girls remained. No men were there. After a while a princess, the wife of the chief, gave birth toagil. So the chief asked the women who nursed his wife, ‘‘What kind of a baby is it?” They told him that it was a girl, and he was glad of this. He said to his slaves, ‘‘Keep her in good health.” After a while the young woman was again with child; and when the time came, she gave birth again. The chief asked the women again, and they told him that the child was a boy. Then the chief ordered his attendants to kill his own son, and they did as he had ordered them. His wife’s grief was almost too much to bear. Again she was with child; and when the time came, and she gaye birth, the chief asked again his wife’s nurse, ‘‘What kind of a baby is it?” They told him that it was a boy, and he ordered them to kill him. They obeyed and killed him. Now, the girl grew up. She looked imto the sun, and her eyes became sore. Therefore her father named her Yavtl. The mother was with child again; and when the time came, she gave birth. When the chief asked the nurses, they told him that the child was a boy, and he ordered them to kill him. They killed him also, and the young princess’s grief was almost too great. She was with child again; and when the time came, she called her own maid, and said to her, ‘‘When I give birth again, and the child is a boy, do not tell the chief when he asks you, but tell him that it is a girl, else he might kill him also.” The maidservant promised her to do so; and when the time came and she gave birth, a boy was born. The chief asked the princess’s maidservant, ‘‘What kind of a baby is it?” and she deceived him, and said, ‘‘It is a girl.” So the chief said, ‘‘Keep her in good health.” The child, however, was a boy. The princess, the chief's wife, kept her boy and tramed him. The boy grew up to be a youth, and the father learned that his wife’s maidservant had deceived him. Therefore he was angry with her, and one day killed her. The boy, however, grew up. His mother was always with him, for she knew that his father sought the child’s life. She told her son that his father had slain all her relatives and all her sons. Now the chief’s hatred of his wife and of his son was so great that his wife and her son fled. The young man called three youths, his friends. Every day they went and hunted birds. The young prince 308 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 was very skillful in making bows and arrows, and he gave them to his three friends. When they grew up to be young men, they were able to shoot large animals. Then the mother of the prince told her son all that his wicked father had done to her other sons, how he had killed them as soon as they were born, and she told her son how his father had killed all her brothers and uncles on account of the trap that had been built between the two villages, and she told him every- thing about her wicked husband. The young man took pity on her and wept with her, and he hated his father; and one day he killed him to avenge his uncles and his mother’s uncles and his own brothers, but he was afraid lest the people should laugh at him. Then his mother told him a story about an arrow with a living reptile-head, which was in another village far away in the uttermost parts of the world, in the northwest, in the house of a chief called Gutginsa’. She said, ‘‘Many brave men have tried to gain this arrow of supernatural power, but they all failed because it is so far away.” Thus spoke the woman to her son. Then the young man left his mother. He called his four compan- jons who had always been with him ever since his youth. He told them the story that his mother had told him, and he said to his com- panions that he intended to go there. They all agreed. They made a good-sized canoe; and when they finished the canoe, the prince asked his mother to collect as much food as she could. She did as her only son said. Then they loaded their canoe with all kinds of food—grease, fat, dried berries, meat—also with coppers, eagle down, and red ocher, and set out. They went toward the northwest. One night they camped in a certain place. Then the young man, all by himself, went into the woods to wash, in order to gain success, while his companions started the camp-fire. While he was in the brook bathing, he beheld a young man who stood by the pool where he was bathing. The young man said to him, ‘‘ What have you done with my bathing-place?”’ The prince, who was bathing, said, ‘‘O supernatural one, take pity on me! I did not know that this pool belonged to you. I came here to bathe because I wanted to have success and take revenge on the enemy of my relatives.’”’ Then the supernatural being said to him, ‘‘What do you want to have?’’ The young man replied, ‘‘My mother told me that a chief in a far-away country has a live arrow. His name is Gutginsa’.” The supernatural being replied, “‘Yes, it is very far away from here,in the outermost part of the world, but you shall get there. I will let you have my blanket; and whenever you reach a village, you shall wear it, and you shall shout behind the houses. Then they shall tell you how many more villages there are before you reach the place Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 309 where you want to go; but you shall hide your canoe from every tribe that you pass. Don’t show yourselves, lest they tell you how difficult is the way that you are to go; and you shall order your com- panions always to offer burnt-cfferings.”’ After the supernatural being had said so, he handed him the skin of a sparrow and vanished from his sight. Then the young man went to his companions, who were encamped, and told them to offer a burnt-offering. They did so. On the following morning they went on, and toward evening they saw a village in the distance. They camped near by and hid their canoe. Early the following morning the young man put on his sparrow blanket, flew up, and alighted on the branches of a tree behind the house of the chief of the village. Then the sparrow began to sing; and an old man in the chief’s house said, ‘‘O super- neon one, supernatural one! there are ener villages before you reach the place where you want to go.’ They started again, and reached the next village. The prince put on his sparrow garment, alighted on the top of the chief’s house, and began to sing, ‘‘Gisquuts gut ginsai!’’ An old man who heard the bird said, ‘“‘O supernatural one, supernatural one! the country that you want to reach is very far away.” The prince’s companion made a burnt-offering in every place where they camped. They started again, and reached another village, and, sitting on the top of the chief’s house, he began to sing, as he had done before in the villages that they had passed. The same answer came from the mouth of an old man, who said that there were many more villages before they would reach there. They went on, and passed many villages. Finally they came to a large village; and the prince put on his sparrow blanket and began to sing, as before; and an old man in the chief’s house said, ‘“‘O super- natural one, supernatural one! there are only three more villages - before you reach there, but it will take a month to go from one village to the next one.” They traveled on’ and on. A month passed, and they reached the next village, larger than the preceding one. The prince put on his sparrow blanket and began to sing, as before. Then the old man in the chief’s house said, ‘‘O supernatural one! there are only two more villages before you reach there, but it takes a month to go from this village to the next one.” They started again, and at the end of a month they arrived at the next village, larger than the other two. The prince put on his spar- row blanket and alighted on the chief’s house and began to sing. Then the old man in the chief’s house said, ‘‘O supernatural one! 310 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [mrH. ANN. 31 there is only one village more before you reach there, but it takes a month to go from here to that village.” They went on again, and at the end of the following month they arrived at the last village. The prince put on his sparrow garment and began to sing, seated on top of the chief’s house. The old chief said, ‘Come down to me, supernatural one! I will give you advice as to how to obtain the life arrow. You might perish between here and Chief Gutginsa’’s village.” So the prince went in and sat down on one side of the large house. The chief asked him, ‘‘ Where are your companions?”’ and the young man replied that they were in hiding behind the village. Then the chief ordered his attendants to bring them to the house, and they went to call them. The chief ordered his men to give food to the guests, and they did so. After they had eaten, the chief said, “‘My dear prince, I have seen how patient you have been all along the way you came. I know you have met with many difficulties, and still you kept on going. Now, there is no other village besides this, and no land. This is the one corner of heaven, and there is only the air beyond. Therefore no living being can reach there, where Chief Gutginsa’’s house is. Therefore let your young men remain here in my house, and I will go with you. Wear your sparrow garment, and I shall put on my hummingbird garment. Then we will fly to the air island where Chief Gutginsa’ lives, and we will borrow his life arrow until the time when your enemy shall have been destroyed. Then he shall take it back again. I received all your burnt-offerings that you made along the way.” The prince decided to follow his advice, and the chief also told his companions to continue their offerings while they were away. He said, ‘‘ We shall be back tomorrow evening.” The next morning they started. Chief Hummingbird flew first, and the Sparrow behind him. They flew upward under the clouds; and when they saw the air island before them, it seemed as large as a man’s finger. They came nearer, and arrived there at the same time. Then the two birds flew into the house of Chief Gutginsa’. Now Chief Hummingbird said, ‘‘ My dear, great chief! will you lend us your live, destroying arrow until this my brother has taken revenge on the enemies of his relatives? Then you shall take it back again.” Chief Gutginsa’ gave his destroying arrow to Chief Hummingbird. They flew back, and it was late in the evening when they came home safely, while the prince’s companions were still making burnt- offerings. Chief Hummingbird said, ‘‘ Keep this arrow in good order, and let nobody see it, lest the arrow should kill some one; but if you want to Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Sill kill anything, tell your arrow the name of the enemy, of the man or of the animal you want. Don’t leave it in the house, but putit ina box, and place the box on a tree, and don’t go in to a woman as long as you keep the arrow. When you get home, invite some old men from every tribe, one at a time, and let them instruct you how to use it; but don’t ask the old men how to use it, only ask them what employment they have had since they were youths, and each will tell you some curious story. Then stop them and send them out with some person until you find a warrior. You shall reward him amply, and he will instruct you how to use the arrow guldani, for that is its name.”’ Thus spoke Chief Hummingbird. ‘ The following morning they started forhome. Chief Hummingbird said, “Keep the bow of your canoe toward the rising sun, but you shall not travel by canoe. Wear your sparrow garment and fly ahead of the canoe; and when you are tired, sit down on the bow of your companions’ canoe. Then, after four days, you shall reach home; but if you travel in your canoe, you shall take a whole year to return.” Now they started. The Sparrow flew ahead of the canoe, and the canoe went very rapidly; and whenever the Sparrow was weary, he alighted on the bow of his companions’ canoe to take a rest; and after being refreshed, they started again. Thus they went on and on, until after four days they arrived at home. Their relatives were glad to see them back safe. The prince’s father kept the tribe of the young man as slaves, and treated them badly. Sometimes he would kill people of his son’s tribe, and the young man was very much displeased to see this. The prince’s house was full of skins of grizzly bears. One day he sent out his slaves to invite one of the old men of his father’s tribe. When the old man came in, he spread one of the grizzly-bear skins at the side of his house. Then they gave the guest good food to eat; and after the old man had eaten, the prince went to the place where he was sitting, and said to him, “Just tell me what has been your employment since you were a young man.” The old man smiled, and said, “Oh, why do you ask me? I am the man with whom every woman has been in love from my youth on.’ The prince replied, “That is not my desire. Go out, and take with you the grizzly-bear skin on which you are sitting.’ The old man went out, and took with him the grizzly-bear skin. The following day he sent and invited an old man of another tribe; and when the old man came in, the prince spread a grizzly-bear skin on the side of the house, and the old man was made tosit onit. After he had eaten his evening meal, the prince went to the place where his guest was sitting, and said to him, ‘ What has been your employment ever since you were young?’’ The old man answered, and said, ole TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eri ANN. 31 ‘Why do you ask me? I have done my best to meet a good-looking wife.” The prince said, ‘That is not my desire. Go out, and take the grizzly-bear skin on which you are sitting.” The old man went, taking his grizzly-bear skin along. Then another one was inyited ; and after this old man had eaten his meal, the prince went to him, and said, ““What has been your employment ever since you were young?’’ The old man replied, and said, “‘Oh, why do you ask me ? I have been married to many beautiful girls whom I have loved.” The prince said, “‘Stop! That is not my desire. Go out, and take the grizzly-bear skin on which you are sitting.” Long ago there were twelve tribes among the Tsimshian, and only nine remain. In each of these tribes there was one old man. Finally one very old man of the tribe of G-it-la’n, named Wiludal, who was blind of old age, was invited by the prince. When he came in, they led him to the grizzly-bear skin that was spread on one side of the prince’s house, and they gave him as good food as they had given the others. After the meal the prince went to where he was sitting, and questioned him. ‘‘ What has been your employment ever since you were young?” Then the old man said, ‘Bring me a bow and arrow. Gird my loins, and place the two large empty boxes yonder, . that I may leap over them; then aim my arrow at a knot-hole.” After he had said so, they led him to the door. ‘Now shout!” said he. The people in the house shouted, and the old warrior leaped about. He did not turn his face after he had shot, but ran forward and leaped backward over the big boxes that had been placed there, to the same place from which he had started. He shot right through the knot-hole. Then he said, “ Yalala! I shoot right through the eye.”” Now the prince was glad to receive good instruc- tions, and he rewarded the old man amply. He called him in day after day until he knew how to hold his weapons. Now the young prince became rich. He invited all the chiefs of the tribes to his house, and gave away much property to his guests. Then he took his mother’s eldest uncle’s name, and his name was now Asagulyaan. All the chiefs received his gifts gladly. Asagul- yaan was the name of the man who accompanied the young prince’s father when they first built the weir between the towns, and who was killed by the prince’s father. Therefore the chief who had killed the young man’s relatives was ashamed, because his son loved his own relatives better than him. Therefore the chief tried in every way to entrap his own son, intending to kill him; but his son knew his father’s heart, because the supernatural being told him what his father’s thoughts were. Another time the young prince sent messengers to all the tribes, inviting all the chief’s princes, chieftainesses, and princesses; and when all the head men of all the tribes were in his house, he said to BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 313 his guests before he distributed his gifts,! “I announce that I am taking all my grandfather’s greatness. I shall be the greatest head chief.”” None of the chiefs replied. He said, furthermore, “I shall make my sister great among the chieftainesses. I give her the name Ya°l, which means ‘eyes blinded by the sun;’ and my old mother shall keep her own name, Bidal.”” Then he gave his great gifts to his guests—costly coppers, slaves, canoes, elk skins, boxes of grease, boxes of dried berries, horn spoons, raccoon skins, and all kinds of goods. ; Then his father was still more angry with his son. Before he left his son’s house, he said to his attendants that he would kill his own son after the feast was over. The reason why the father was angry was that he himself was the head chief among the Tsimshian at that time. When the feast of the new chief, Asagulyaan, was over, there was no trouble among the people in all the tribes of the Tsimshian in the old towns at Metlakahtla. It was midwinter. Then Asagulyaan took his live arrow and went over to his father’s village secretly at night. He crept up to his father’s house at mid- night; and when he came to the smoke hole, he took up his live arrow, and said to it, “Go through the heart of the chief who killed all my relatives, then come back to me tomorrow!’’ Then the arrow went right into the heart of the chief, who died there, and the arrow remained there the whole night. All the people in the house of the chief were quiet. When the sun rose up high in the sky, one of the chief’s beloved wives went to call him. She took the mat off from her husband’s face, and, behold! he was dead. The end of an arrow appeared over his heart. Then she eried out, “Oh, dear chief! who killed you?” Then the whole chief’s tribe came in, and they saw the end of the arrow in his heart. So they took the arrow from the chief’s heart and passed it around to look at it. They saw that the head of the arrow was like that of a reptile, whose eyes twinkled when any one looked at its face. They saw that the teeth of the arrow were like dogs’ teeth. After the chief’s people had examined the arrow, it flew from their hands through the smoke hole, and said “‘Guétdana!”’ and therefore the people call the living arrow “guidana.”’ The chief’s people went to every village and inquired who shot the chief in his house, and all the villages answered that they had nothing against the great chief. Therefore they came back home late in the evening. Then the whole tribe of the chief singed their hair with fire, as was the custom among the people when a great chief died; and the whole tribe blackened their faces with charcoal, great and small, 1 Tt is the custom to lift a costly copper above the head of a great chief to confirm his words. 314 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN, 31 high and low. Before they buried the chief, they invited all the chiets of the tribes, and every tribe took their own chief in their canoe to the dead chief’s village, and a nephew of the dead chief handed his goods to all the chiefs in their canoes on the water. This was the young man who succeeded to his uncle’s place. He would lift up an elk skin before each chief, and when lifting it up he would call out the chief’s name. When all the chiefs had received their presents, they remembered the young prince Asagulyaan. They called him by his nickname; and when they lifted up a small elk skin for him, the successor of the dead chief said, ‘‘The son of Bidat.’”’ Then the small elk skin was passed from one canoe to another, until finally it reached the canoe of the young new chief. Then he stood up in his canoe, threw the small elk skin into the water, and said, ‘Is this common elk skin given to call out the name of Son Of Bidal?’’ and his companions paddled away from the place. Then the nephew of the dead chief said to his people that that slave had killed his own father. After this all the chiefs went to their own villages. On the following morning a great multitude of people assembled in front of the house of Asagulyaan, and the whole beach was covered with people. There was a large rock in the middle of the sandy beach, and a long ladder was standing in front of the carved house reaching to the roof of Asagulyaan’s house. Another ladder reached the roof from the interior. Before the young chief went forth to fight against his enemies, the people in his house were shouting, and eagle down flew upward through the smoke hole. Then the young chief came out through the smoke hole, wearing on his head a chief’s headdress set with abalone shells, and wearing his dancing-garments, his dancing-aprons, leggings, and rattle. He held his bow in one hand, his rattle in the other. Then he ran down the long ladder in front of his house, and, leaping here and there, ran right down to the beach, where the people were waiting for him. He jumped over the large rock in the middle of the sandy beach, and then he let his live arrow go. He ran backward, and jumped backward over the large rock, and ran up the long ladder in front of his house. Then the live arrow went through the hearts of the people; and when the arrow was weary, it returned to its master; and the young chief took it and wiped it, and put it into his box, and the beach in front of his house was full of dead people. The stomach of the live arrow was filled with men’s blood. On the following day another multitude of people came against him. When he was ready, all the people in his house began to shout. They beat their wooden drum and clapped their hands, and the young chief i + : ; § BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 315 came up, bird’s down rising before he appeared through the smoke hole. Then he came down from the roof of his house or the long ladder which stood in front. He leaped here and there, jumped over the rock, ran among the crowd, and let go his living arrow. Then the arrow said, “Guldana!”’ Then Asagulyaan ran back, jumped backward over the rock, and never turned his face from his foes. Then he ran up the long ladder and down through the smoke hole. His arrow killed many people. Then it returned to its master, who took it, and saw that its stomach was full of blood. He wiped it and put it back into the box. Now the new chief, Nés-wa-m4’k, invited all the tribes to fight against Asagulyaan; but the tribes decided to fight him by themselves, each on one day. They all agreed to do so. On the following day one tribe set out to fight him, and they were almost all killed by the arrow of Asagulyaan. As far as the arrow went, everybody was killed, and few people escaped. Each tribe went to battle day by day, but they all failed. Now Wiludat told his nephews and his sons-in-law and also his grandsons and his brothers-in-law to assemble in his own house, and gave them advice. He said, “‘My dear men, not one of you must join these people who fight Asagulyaan, else you will be destroyed with them; for Asagulyaan is a supernatural being; he is not a man. horefore I tell you, don’t go there! His arrow is alive, and will devour every one who comes up against him.”’ The young men, however, would not believe what the old warrior had told them. On the following day they all went to battle as to an amusement, for some people had told them that Asagulyaan was like a bird running rapidly down on the beach. So they went with them; and while all the crowds of people were on the beach in front of his house, the shouting in the house, the beating of drums, and clapping of hands, began. Down ascended from the smoke hole, and then the young chief came up there surrounded by a mist of ‘feathers. He ran down the long ladder right down to the beach, jumped over the rock, went down a little farther, and then he let go his arrow. He ran backward, as before, and jumped over the rock backward, climbed up his long ladder, and went down through the smoke hole. Then his arrow devoured as many people as it could. Now all Wiludal’s relatives were killed; only one little grandson remained with him. Therefore Wiludal’s sorrow was great, and he mourned for many days. He was the one who had taught Asagulyaan how to hold his weapons in battle. He said to his grandchild, ‘I will go and kill him because he has slain all my relatives.” Then the strong man laughed at him, mock- ing him, and said, ‘Now this is the kind of man to kill Asagulyaan. Don’t, you old blind man! Stay at home! You will only hinder the people who will fight with him.” Nevertheless he said, “TI shall surely shoot him.’ Yet they scorned him. 316 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Now, when all the tribes were giving battle, Wiludal said to his grandson, who led him by the hand, ‘Put me behind the rock over which he always leaps, and point my arrow at the center of the smoke hole. Then, when you see the mist of feathers coming out of the smoke hole, tell me, ‘Now shoot!’ Then I will shoot him.” So his grandson watched the smoke hole. After a little while they heard shouting and beating of drums. The mist of down rose, and then the grandson said, ‘‘Now shoot!” Then the old warrior used all his strength and shot. He turned to his fellows, and said, “Ah, ah! I killed him. I hit his eye.” Some of his fellows believed what he said, and others still mocked him. Wiludat hit Asagulyaan through the eye. The arrow came out at the back of Asagulyaan’s head, and all his brains came out. * He fell off from the top of the ladder which was placed from the inside up to the smoke hole—fell to the ground, and died right there. Therefore his sister took off her brother’s dancing-garment and dancing-aprons, leggings, and rattle. The headdress was broken to pieces. Therefore they took a wolf helmet of the prince, and she wore it. Then another shout went up. The mist of down rose again, and she came out through the smoke hole, ran down as quickly as her brother had done, with her brother’s bow in her hand. The crowds did not know her. She leaped over the rock; and when she passed a little farther down, she let go her arrow. Then she ran, turning her face toward the house where she had come from. She did not do as her brother had done, who ran backward when he turned, and kept his face on his enemies. On the way she became weary, and ran like a woman. Therefore the multitude knew that she was a woman; and they all shouted, and said, ‘Ha, a woman!”’ and all the people pressed on them and fell on them. A few children tried to run away, but the multitude destroyed them. The woman wore her brother’s paraphernalia, and ran away from them around the island. She took off the prince’s wolf’s helmet and threw it away, and it became a rock, which may be seen up to this day; and her footsteps may still be seen on the rocks where she walked, up to this day. The people of this tribe are scattered among all the other tribes. They have not had a village since that day. The live arrow, as soon as the woman let it go, went off howling, and flew to its home, saying while it was flying, “Gutdana!”’ Everybody saw it flying swiftly through the air toward the sunset. It has never returned since that time. Wiludat was first of all the warriors of the Tsimshian, better than Asagulyaan, for he was very old, and nevertheless he hit Asagulyaan’s eye. Therefore all the people honor him up to this day. This story was kept by the Wolf Clan. BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 317 53. THE Prince anp Prince WoLF! In the time of our forefathers, animals would sometimes have a woman or a man for wife or husband. There was a great prince, the son of a great chief, who had his home in the old town of Metlakahtla, and three young men were chosen to be his friends. He had a beautiful wife, whom he loved very much. The prince was an expert hunter. Almost every day throughout the year he went hunting with his three friends. Some- times they would stay away a month and a half. Then he came home, and would stay two or three days in the village. Then he would go out again. He went all over the country and became rich. His father and his mother were very old, and his name spread all over the country, also all the animals knew the fame of his name. He would always go about hunting, and his wife always wore new garments of marten skin and sea-otter skin and skins of other ani- mals. She had nothing to do or to eat (?) at home, but she wore nice clothing, and many princes were well pleased to see her, but she loved her husband most. All the princes tried in every way to seduce her; but they could not do so, for she was very proud and would not talk to any one. She always told her husband what the other princes said to her. She showed her husband a new garment that her mother-in-law had made for her. The prince loved her very much. Therefore she told him all she had in her heart. The young prince went out again, and he told his beloved wife how many days he would be away from home. Then he went. As soon as he had gone, his wife took a walk with her girls around the lake behind the village to refresh herself; and while she was there with her maid, she said to her, ‘“‘Go and pick cranberries for me! I will wait for you here.” She had done so many times before. As soon as her maid had gone, a good-looking young man came to her, and she smiled when she saw him. Then the young man smiled at ber also. He came to the place where she was sitting. Now the princess was very much in love with him. Then the young man asked her, “‘May I sit by your side ?’””—‘ Yes, do sit down near me!”’? She pointed to the place by her side, and the young man went up to her. Then she embraced him, and the young man kissed her; and while they were there, the girl came back, her basket filled with cranberries. She saw her mistress embrace the good-looking young man, and said to her, “ Here are the cranberries!”” The princess replied, “Just put them down there and go and get some more!’’ The maid went away; and while she was gone, she lay with the young man. After a while the maid came back to her, and said, ‘‘I have filled this basket twice. Let us go back before dark, lest some misfortune befall us!”’ 1 Notes, pp. 759, 858. 318 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pre ANN. 31 Then they walked down with the young man. He wore a garment with cloven feet and an armor with ears of wild animals. Before they arrived at the village, the young man embraced and kissed her twice, and she said, ‘‘ Will you come to me tonight or some other time ?’’—‘‘ Yes,” said the young man. ‘ How long is your husband going to stay away ?”—‘He will stay away for a month.”—‘‘ Then I will come every night.’’ Now they parted and went their ways. The same night he came to her house, and he did so several nights. The princess ordered her maid not to tell any one, and her maid promised that she would not tell any one. Now the young prince was unlucky. He always missed when he shot, and he wanted to go back home. Therefore he went home; and before he reached the village he said to his three friends, ‘Let us wait here until night comes, for we have no game!’’ So they camped at the end of the village, waiting until night came. About midnight they went secretly along the beach in front of his father’s house. He said to his friends in the canoe, ‘I will go up to the house alone, and I will see what has happened to my wife.’’ So he went alone. He pushed the door-flap aside gently and went to the bed of his wife’s maid. He woke her gently, and asked, “ Did any one come to my wife while I was away? Don’t conceal it from me! I will lull you if you don’t tell me the truth! Now tell me!” Then the maid said, “ Yes, master! As soon as you left, my mis- tress called me to take a walk around the lake, as we used to do many times when you were gone. I left my mistress and went to pick cran- berries. When I had filled my basket with berries, I went to the place where she was sitting, and I saw a young man, good-looking like you, who embraced her. She sent me to pick some more berries, and I went and filled another basket. Then when I came to her, I forced her to go home before dark. We went down, and before we went to our house the young man asked her to let him come the same night, and she agreed, and he has come every night until now.” Then the prince went back to his friends in his canoe. He told his three friends, and they went secretly into the house to his mas- ter’s wife’s bedroom, and killed the man who was lying in his master’s bed. They cut his head off, and in the morning they saw the garment of the one they had killed. It was covered with cleft feet of deer and cleft feet of mountain sheep, and his armor was covered with long ears of reindeer and long ears of red deer, and on his hat he had a wolf’s tail. The prince kept the body of the young man, together with the head, in a box behind the house; and he took all the garments, the armor, and the hat for his crests. He was not angry with his wife, and still loved her, because he received these costly crests through her. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 319 Then the old chief called all his wise men, and showed them these garments, the armor, and the hat. The wise men said, “The young man who has been killed is a prince of the Wolves;” and the wise men said, “‘Moreover, my dear prince, build a fort! Let all our young people build a strong fort, lest the cruel wolves come and devour our wives and children!” In the same night a cry was heard at one end of the village, ‘“‘Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s adultery garment, that I need! Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s garment, that I need!” All the people in the village did not sleep that night, for they heard the mother of the man that had been killed crying through the vil- lage. Before daybreak she ceased her wail, and all the people of the village, young and old, went out to get logs, and before evening they came home bringing the logs. In the night the wail came again at the other end of the village. ‘‘Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s garment, that I need! Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s garment, that I need!’” The mother of the slain one went around the village throughout the night, wailing, ““Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s adultery garment, that [need! Oh, my child, my child, who ate the deer whole! Only give me your brother’s garment, that I need!’ Before day- light she left. Then all the people of the village began to build a fort. They made a double wall around it. The women and children gathered stones in the fort, and they built a sidewalk over the top of the wall, and all the people moved into the fort. As soon as evening came, they heard wolves howling in the woods behind the village, at one end of the village, and at the other end; and howling of wolves was heard on the other side. Then they came from all sides, nearer and nearer, and all the wolves stood around the double fort. Then the mother of Prince Wolf said, “Only give me your brother’s garment of cleft feet, my dear, else we shall eat all of your people tonight!” The prince replied, “I will not give you your son’s garment, I will keep it myself!’’ and the mother said, “And where is my son’s body? Give it to me!’”’ The prince did not reply a word. She repeated, ‘‘Give me my son’s body, or I will devour your people!” All the wolves began to gnaw at the walls of the fort; and when the first wall almost fell, then the people went upon the wall and threw stones down at the wolves, and many were killed. On the followmg morning all the wolves from every direction assembled, and the outer wall fell, but the second wall remained. 320 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 Again the Mother Wolf said, ““Give me my child’s body!’ The prince replied, ‘‘No, [ will not give it to you; I will keep it in good order, because | made a mistake in killing him. Therefore I will keep his body, his cleft-foot garments, his long-ear armor, and his wolf-tail hat. I will keep them all and I[ will give a great feast; and I will take his name, because he is my brother.’ Then the Mother Wolf began to howl, and sang her own mourning- song. She sang the song of the cleft-foot garment, and the song of the long-ear armor, and the song of the wolf-tail hat. All the wolves were very quiet. After she had sung her song, she said, ‘‘You are my son. Today I will take you; and you shall take my brother’s place, because he was a great prmce among the animals, and all the animals of the wood honored him. They shall honor you also, and you shall have your brother’s place; and when I die, my words shall be accomplished.” Then all the wolves made a great noise, and they ran home howling. Now the great prince gave a feast. He invited all the tribes that lived in the channel of Metlakahtla; and when all the guests were in, the great prince had much property piled up. Then he came out from the inner room, wearing his brother’s adultery garment of cleft feet. He sang a song, and he went back into the inner room. Then he came out again wearing the long-ear armor, and he put on his wolf-tail hat. Then they sang the armor song and the wolf-tail hat song; and after he had given away all his property to his guests, he took his new name, the name of the prince whom he had slain the other day. His name was Ate The Whole Deer. He was a very successful hunter in every way. The Wolf Mother always helped him when he was hunting. One time after he had given many feasts, his father and his old mother died, and the prince was lonely. In the evening the Wolf Mother came into his house, and said, ‘‘I have come to take you to my house for a while.’ Then the prince went with her; and when they arrived at her home, he saw many animals in the house. The Mother Wolf said to her attendant, ‘‘Go out and call all the wild animals! I will show them my adopted son.’’ They went, and all the wild animals came in—panthers, grizzly bears, black bears, white bears, wolverenes, and many others; and when all the wild animals were jn, she said to them, “I am glad that you have all come to my feast. I will show you my adopted son, who has taken my own son’s place. You shall honor him, and you shall not hurt him, and I will give my brother my two daughters to be his wives.’’? Then she fed her guests with all kinds of meat and all kinds of tallow, and she gave them all kinds of fresh salmon to eat, and so on. The prince loved the two girls who had become his wives, and the two girls loved him. He had not been there many days before the Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 321 Mother Wolf died; and he was very sorry, for he was alone among the animals. He always went hunting with his two wives, and obtained all kinds of animals, and his two wives were very strong. If he missed a shot, his two wives would run after the animal that he had missed and catch it. Therefore he was a great hunter, greater than the beasts of prey. Often he would give a great feast to the wild animals. Many years had gone by, and he was thinking of his own home. Therefore one day he said to his two wives, ‘‘I must go down and visit my home.” His two wives went with him. Before they reached the village he said to his wives, “Stay here for a while, until I come back to take you down!” Then he went to the village alone; and when he arrived there, he went to his father’s house. He entered, and the people did not know him, for he was very hairy. He sat down at the end of the large fire, at the side toward the door. A great chief was sitting at the head of the large fire, with his wife. He said to his young men, ‘‘Ask the man there where he comes from.” Then the two young men went to him and asked where he came from. He replied that he was the son of the great chief of that house. Therefore the new chief ordered him to come and sit with him at the head of the fire. He arose and sat down at the right-hand side of his cousin the new chief. Then the new chief sent his slaves throughout the village and called all the people. He embraced his cousin and wept with him; and when all the people were in, he said to them, old and young, “‘This is my cousin whom we lost many years ago and whom we thought to be dead, but he is still alive, so let us have a good time with him tonight!” He said to his old people, “I will dance for my cousin the great prince.” Then all the people had a great celebration. The prince told the chief his cousin that his two wives were staying far behind the village. He said, ‘‘T will go up and bring them down.” Then he went with his other two younger cousins, and he took them down to the house. They were sitting down at their husband’s sides, and they were given all kinds of food to eat. Then the new chief gave each of them a costly garment. He gave the prince a dancing-garment, a marten garment, and to the wife who was sitting on his right side a sea-otter garment, and to the one who was sitting on his left side a marten garment. Then they were all happy. Every morning, while the people were still asleep, the two wives would be awakened by the smell of something. Then they wakened their husband and told him that they smelled some animals near the village. They caught them and brought them home, and he invited the people almost every day to give them fresh meat. His cousin the new chief loved him very much, and all the people of the village loved him. One day he and his two wives went to 50633°—31 ErH—16——21 ay TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 bring all their goods down to the new chief’s house. They were going to have their home there. The young wives of the great prince had each two children at a time. He had many children. The elder wife gave birth to six pairs of twins, and the other wife gave birth to three pairs of twins, so that he had eighteen children in all. They were skillful hunters, the girls also. Now the time for his end came, and he called all his children, and said to them, ‘If you return to your own home, do not hurt my people when you see them on the mountains; and if you marry some of these people,-do not go back home!”’ ‘The children promised that they would not return to their own home; and the prince’s days came to an end and he died. ; His eldest son was married to one of the daughters of another chief, and the rest of his children all married. The girls also married some of the princes. Only two of the children returned to their own home. ‘Therefore the wolves are afraid of human beings up to this day. 54. Tas Guost Wuo Foueur wirh THE GREAT SHAMAN! Tn olden times many different things happened among the people. Some were good and others bad, and some were funny. And so it is with this story of the ghost and the great shaman. Tn a village on Nass River there was a chief who had an only son. When the boy had grown up to be a youth, he had four friends who were of the same age as he. It was the custom of princes to choose some good and wise young men to be his friends; and so it was with this prince. Every day they went into the woods and built a small hut, to which they used to go every day. The prince pretended to be a shaman, and his four friends were his singers. They made a skin drum, and had a board on which to beat time; and so they went to their hut day by day. Their parents did not know what they were doing. Soon after they had had their breakfast in the morning, they went to their little hut, and played there all day until evening. At dusk they came home. They did this day by day and month by month and year by year. Finally, when the prince was full grown, one day they went in another direction to hunt squirrels. Before evening they came home; and before they reached there, they passed by the graveyard a little behind the village, on the bank of a brook behind the town; and as they were passing by, they saw one of the coffins open. The young prince said, ‘‘Shall I go into that open coffin there?” His friends asked him to desist; but he did not pay any attention to what they said, and jumped into the open coffin. He lay down in it; and as soon as he lay down there, he was dead. Then his four friends were very sorry. They stood around the coffin, weeping. 1 Notes, p. 859. noas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 323 Before dark one of the young men went home, and three staid there. After a while another of the young men went home, and two staid there. After a while still another one went home, and one, who loved the prince most, still remained. When it was very dark, this young man feared that the ghosts would come and take him. Therefore he ran down to his house; and all the young men, as soon as they reached their home, forgot what had happened to them and to their prince in the graveyar al Late at night the chief, the father of the prince, anal his wife, inquired for their only son. Then the prince’s friends remembered what had happened as they were passing the graveyard, and how the prince had insisted on lying down in the open coffin. Therefore the chief ordered his great tribe to light their torches and to go to the graveyard on the same night. Therefore all the people lighted their torches of pitch wood and maple bark and torches made of olachen. They set out for the graveyard, and found the body of the prince lying in the open coffin. They took it away and carried it down to the chief's house. There were many people. They placed him on a wide board in front of the large fire in his father’s house. The prince’s heart was still beating. Therefore his father asked all the shamans from the other tribes to come. He told them what had happened to his son; and he said that he wanted to have his only son come back to life, and that therefore he had called them all. Thus said the chief, and promised them a rich reward if they could restore his son to life. So they began to dance. Each of the shamans put his charms on the dead prince; and finally, when the various charms had been put on him, he came back to life. The shamans had been working over him for four days and four nights. Then each received his reward, as the chief had promised before. Now the prince had become a great shaman, because he was filled with the charms of the different shamans, and because he had pre- tended to be a shaman ever since his boyhood; and his four friends were his attendants, and always went before him. After a short time one of his father’s people died—the head man of his father’s tribe. Then the prince said to his father, ‘‘I will go and restore him to life.” The father said, ‘My son, can you do that?” The prince put all the carved bones around his neck. He put on his crown of grizzly-bear claws and put on his dancing-apron, took his rattle in his right hand and the white eagle tail in his left. He black- ened his face with charcoal, and strewed eagle down on his head. Then he went with his four attendants, and went to the house where the dead one was. All the people of the village came to the house. 324 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 In the evening the prince began his shaman’s songs, and his attend- ants’ songs followed. After the first song, he stood at the end of the large fire, and said, ‘‘This man’s soul is now in the village of the Ghosts, and my supernatural helper says that I shall take his soul back again to his body from the village of the Ghosts. Bring me anew cedar-bark mat, and let all the people in this house beat time on a plank, and thus help my attendants, and let them sing as loud as they can until | come back!” Then all the people did as he had wanted them to. Then he put on the new cedar-bark mat and started in the dark of the night. Everybody in the house was singing. They beat the skin drum and beat the boards with sticks. Now the shaman prince went to the graveyard; and when he had arrived there, he saw a quiet river, and the village of the Ghosts on the other side. There was a narrow bridge across the river. He went across, and ran as fast as he could, his supernatural power leading him toward the chief of the Ghosts. The shaman entered the chief Ghost’s house, and there he saw the soul of the dead man sitting in the rear of the house. The chief of the Ghosts was sitting by his side, and all the Ghosts were assembled in the house to see the newcomer. The shaman went right in, and saw the soul of the one who had just died sitting there. Then the shaman prince took him by the shoulders, and said, “I will take you back to your body;”’ and he went out of the house of the chief of the Ghosts. The prince came back to the house in which the dead body was while all the people were singing. He entered, and said that he had taken the soul of the dead man and brought it back again. He kept his left hand closed, and rattled with the rattle which he held in his right hand. He went around the fire four times, following the course of the sun. Then he went toward the body of the dead man, and put the soul of the dead body into it. As soon as the soul went into the body, the one who had been dead sat up. He had come back to life. Then all the people were astonished to see what the shaman prince had done. The news of the prince’s success soon spread over the whole country. After some time another relative of his father died while the shaman prince was absent. When the prince came home, he saw that his father grieved. He asked him, ‘“What makes you so sorrowful, father?” and they informed him that one of his father’s nieces had died three days before. So the prince ordered his people to assemble; and when all the people were in, the shaman prince went, as he had done before, and brought back the soul of his cousin from the town of the Ghosts. Then all the villagers round about spread the fame of the shaman prince, and of his ability to bring back the souls of dead people from BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 325 the town of the Ghosts. When any one died in some other village, they sent for him, and offered him great reward if he should bring back the souls of the dead. He did this for a long time, and no one was dying in all the villages, because the great shaman was among the people. Therefore all the Ghost-town people hated the shaman prince, because no souls of the dead came to the Ghost town. Therefore their hatred of the prince increased greatly. Therefore they assembled and held a council, and determined to try to kill the prince. They all agreed to cut off the ends of the bridge when the shaman prince should come again to get the soul of a dead one. As soon as the council of the Ghosts ended, they went and took the soul of aman. Two days later the man died. The shaman prince, however, knew that the Ghosts had held a council against him. His chief supernatural power had told him so; and his super- natural power had said to him, ‘‘Go and bring back the souls of your people. If you are afraid of the Ghosts’ council, you shall surely die; but if you do as I order you, I will protect and guard you; but remember, if you disobey my orders, a dreadful punishment awaits you.” Then the shaman prince assembled all his people, and ordered them to wait until he should come back, and to sing all his songs while he was away. Then all his people kept on singing. Now the shaman prince went on his way until he arrived by the bank of the river that runs in front of the Ghosts’ town. He went to the bridge, and his supernatural power carried him across. He went to the house of the chief of the Ghosts, who takes the souls of the dead first. All the souls of the dead go first to the house of this great chief. Therefore the shaman prince went right to it. He went in and snatched the soul of the dead one from the cold hands of the cruel Ghosts. Then he ran out quickly, and the Ghosts pursued him over the bridge. He had almost arrived at this end of the bridge that had been cut by the Ghosts, when both his feet went down into the water of the river, but his body fell on the dry land. He arose again, and ran down as fast as he could; but before he reached his father’s house, he fell down and began to groan. Now, the people in the house heard him groaning. They took their torches, and, behold! the shaman prince was lying there. They took him in and placed him on a wide plank in front of the fire. Then his supernatural power came to him. The people in the house saw that part of his foot was badly scorched, and the hearts of all the people who were in the house failed them. As far as the water had reached on both of his feet when he fell at the end of the bridge of the Ghosts, his flesh was burned and scorched. The river was the 326 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [HTH. ANN. 31 Boiling-Oil River. No one gets out of it who drops into it. The shaman had fallen into it. His supernatural power said to him, ‘“‘Arise, and run around the fire, following the course of the sun, four times. Then you will soon get better.’ His feet were very sore, but he tried to do what his supernatural power had told him. He ran around the fire once, and twice, and three times, and four times, and his feet were healed. Now, when his feet were healed from their burns, he had more power than before. He went often into the Ghost town and brought back the souls of the dead; and although men or women had been dead two, three, or four days, still the shaman prince went to the Ghost town and brought their souls back. Then the Ghosts hated him very much. They held another council, and wished to kill the shaman prince; yet they had no power, because the prince’s supernatural helper told him what the Ghosts had planned in their council. The Ghost town became smaller and smaller, because not one soul of a dead person was coming into the town, for the shaman prince was always coming to the town, and often during the day some Ghost fell and dropped into the burning river; and he died there, which is the second death, and he became a fisher; and every old Ghost dropped froia the bridge and became a salmon. The chief of the Ghosts hated the shaman prince very much. Now they held another council to entrap him, and they decided to let their chief pretend to be sick and to call the shaman prince. They all agreed to this. The following night two tall men came to the house of the chief, stood in the door, and called the shaman prince to discover what ailed the chief of the Ghosts. The prince told the two messengers that he would go to examine him the following night. The two messengers went; and the shaman invited all the people of his father’s tribe into: his house, and told them that the Ghosts were ready to fight with them. He said, ‘I shall go to see their chief, who pre- tends to be sick because they want to kill me. Therefore be you also ready for the battle against them tomorrow night. Let the people in every house gather urine mixed with poison, and nasty things mixed in, everything that is bad; and as soon as the evening comes, stand firm and throw the fluid behind your house, so that the Ghosts can not come down to take you away. Some of them will be killed by your mixture.’”’ Thus said the shaman prince to his people. Then all the people did what he had said; and when they had pre- pared the mixture on the following evening, the shaman was ready. He went to the Ghosts’ town, into the house of the chief. Then he BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 327 saw the great chief lymg down in front of his large fire. He was groaning when he saw the shaman prince coming to his house. Now the prince sat down at the foot of his bed, looking into the eyes of the chief who pretended to be sick. The chief ordered his attend- ants to bring forward his box, and so his attendants brought up the box containing his rattles. Now we will go back to the people of the village. As soon as the prince left them, following the invitation of the Ghosts, all the Ghosts went down to the prince’s people and shot them with. their arrows, and all the men of the village threw the fluid behind their houses. Then the Ghosts could not come right down to shoot them, because Ghosts are afraid of urine mixed with poison. The arrows of the Ghosts were dried nettles. The prince, who was in the house of the chief of the Ghosts, opened the box of rattles which they had given to him. He took out the first rattle, which was a skull, and the handle was a backbone. Next he took out the dancing-apron, which was set with bones of a skeleton, which hung all round the bottom like fringe. Third, he took out the crown, which was made of dead men’s ribs. Now the prince took the dancing-apron; but before he put it on, he blew water from his mouth into the hollow of his right hand and rubbed it on his loins, then he put it on; and before he put on the crown of dead men’s ribs, he blew water into the hollow of his right hand and rubbed it around his forehead. Then he put on the crown of ribs. Again, before he took the skull rattle he blew water from his mouth into the hollow of his right hand and rubbed it over his arms. Now he was ready for work. He heard a noise outside the house. The people were saying, “All our arrows have failed! They have all come back to us!”’ Now the prince started; and his supernatural power said to him, “Run four times around the chief who pretends to be sick!” The shaman prince did what the supernatural power said to him. After he had run about four times, his supernatural power said to him, ‘ Now kick the ground at the head of the chief who pretends to be sick!”’ He did what his supernatural power had told him; and as soon as he kicked the ground, he jumped another way. At once the earth opened and swallowed up the chief of the Ghosts. The earth swal- lowed him up, and this was his second death. The supernatural powers of the prince took him and dropped him into the burning river which runs in front of the Ghost town. Then the shaman prince walked down safely to his own village. Now he had still more power than he had before. He had double what he had before. (It was known among the people in those days that dead men were very dangerous to shamans.) 328 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 Now his fame spread all over the country, and all his companions staid with him wherever he went. He became very rich, for all the sick people whom he healed paid him. Every year he went around from place to place. Once he came into a village, and saw a crowd of people standing on the beach weeping, and everybody looking very sad. He inquired of some one who stood near by, and the young man told him that one of the princesses was drowned in a river. Then the shaman prince said, “If you will bring the body to me, I will cure her.”’ This happened in the fall, when the river was flooded. This was the time when the young princess was drowned. They searched for her body, but m vain, and the father and mother whose only daughter she had been were very sad. They searched all the year round until the next spring, when they found the girl’s skeleton caught by a branch at the bank of the river. The people took the bones up to the house of her father. Now the chief who had lost his only daughter sent for the shaman prince to cure her who had been drowned the preceding fall. There- fore the shaman prince went there. He wore all the things that he had taken from the house of the Ghost chief. As soon as he came in, he saw a skeleton laid out ona mat. All his companions sat down, ready tosing. Then the shaman prince started a song; and while they were singing, the shaman prince’s supernatural power said to him, “Sprinkle ashes over the skeleton four times, and it shall be trans- formed into flesh. After that take your eagle tail and fan her, then she shall come back to life.” The shaman prince did what his supernatural power told him. While the song was proceeding, the shaman went to the fire and sprinkled the hot ashes over the skeleton of the princess. Then all the dust stuck to the bones and gathered on the skeleton. He did so four times, as his supernatural power had told him. Then the bare bones were covered with flesh and skin, but there was no life in her. Therefore he took his eagle tail and fanned the body. Then she came back to life, and all the people were surprised to see her; and the chief, the father of the girl, paid him much property—slaves, costly coppers, canoes, and all kinds of goods. When all his fellow-shamans perceived that he was greater than all the others, they held a secret council, intending to entrap him; for he was a great power, and able to cure any kind of disease and to revive the dead. Therefore his fellow-shamans agreed to invite him. On the following day they assembled in one of the shaman’s houses and called the shaman prince. They were trying to kill him there. One of his supernatural powers was helping him, and warned him. He went across the river and entered the house of his enemies and sat down. When the food was ready, his supernatural power spoke Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 329 to him, and said, ‘‘This is dried human flesh, nevertheless eat it.” At midnight he felt sick. Then he called all his relatives, and said to them, ‘‘My relatives, I am going to die. After I have been dead for a year, I shall come back to life, provided one of you will come and stand under my coffin to catch me. If you should fail to do so, and if you should be afraid of me, none of you shall be left. Now, who will volunteer ?”’ Then all his relatives were speechless. Finally one of his nephews replied, ‘I will catch you.’’ Thus said his nephew at the end of the shaman prince’s speech. He asked for his dancing-apron, and his crown, and his rattle, which he had taken from the house of the Ghost chief. Heran around the fire four times, following the course of the sun. At the end of the fourth time he asked for a coffin. They brought to him the square box. Then he went into it and died, wearing his apron, his crown, and rattle, which he had taken from the house of the Ghost chief. Now they placed the box on the branch of a large tree just behind the house. His companions watched the coffin night after night. At the end of one year those who were watching the coffin heard a great noise there. Then all the relatives of the shaman prince remembered the prince’s last words before he died. Therefore they assembled under the coffin. It was open, and they saw the shaman prince in the form of a queer-looking ugly owl. They all fell to the ground like dead, for they were much afraid. One of his com- panions, who had always been with him from the time when he first became a shaman, tried to catch him, but the owl refused to let him do so. When all his relatives had recovered, his nephew tried to catch him, as he had promised to do before his uncle’s death. He went toward the large tree; but when he looked up, he fell back, bemg afraid. When the queer-looking ugly owl saw his nephew fall to the ground, and when he perceived that all his relatives were afraid of him, he spoke to them: “ Not one of you will be left, nor one of the shamans that killed me. I shall take you all to the village of the Ghosts, and also all the shamans that killed me. I will make them my slaves in my house in the Ghost town, for the Ghosts took me to be their chief in their town. Only my companions who have always been with me wherever I went while I was among them, and who desired to catch me while I was sitting here, they shall succeed to all my supernatural powers. I will help them and look after them right along.” | After he had spoken these words, the queer-looking ugly owl suddenly fell back into the box, and the cover of the box replaced itself. 330 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY (rH. ANN, 31 On the following morning the people of the village went back to the burial-place, and a strong young man climbed the tree. When he came to the coffin, he opened the box, and there was nothing in it; only the box was full of eagle down. After a while the enemies of the shaman prince died one at a time, and his own relatives also died one by one in the same way. Then the shaman prince had come to be a chief in the Ghost town. He was the head chief there; and while he was there, all the souls of the shamans who had tried to kill him came to the Ghost town. He punished them in the burning river that flows in front of the Ghost town. He cast their souls into it, and they died a second death. The second death of Ghosts is their transfer into cohoes salmon. Then the chief of the Ghosts guarded all his people, and all the souls of his relatives; but his four companions who had always been with him while he was alive among men became shamans in his place. They always went to the town of the Ghost chief, and they often talked to him, and the Ghost chief helped them whenever they wanted the souls of some one who had died or some beloved one; and the Ghost chief ordained that if a person had been dead for four days, then the shamans should have no power to put the soul back into the body. So these four shamans did what the Ghost chief told them to do, and the four shamans told the people what they had been told. Then the people understood it, and the four men worked among the people as the Ghost chief wanted them to do. They worked many years. Once upon a time these four shamans went to the house of a great chief whose young, beautiful son had died, and the whole tribe were mourning over the dead prince. After four days they invited these four shamans in to bring the soul of his dead son back. When the four shamans came into the house where the dead boy lay, they saw ‘his beautiful body. They also saw how sad the parents were, and they told them that they would soon bring back the soul of the dead boy. However, the four days had passed. They went to the graveyard, as they were accustomed to do, and came to the Ghost town. The Ghosts nret them on the way and smelled of them. They said, ‘‘ You have a very bad smell.’”’ They went to the chief’s house. The chief was very angry with them because they had broken his orders. Therefore he said, ‘‘ You shall not return to your people; you shall stay with me, for you have broken my order.” Therefore the four sorcerers never came back again. They also stay in the Ghost town. Their bodies were found in the graveyard, and the people took them down and buried them. That is the end. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Sod 55. GREAT SHAMAN ! Tn olden times there were in this country a great many shamans who were like supernatural beings among the people, and who, through their magic, worked wonders among them. Everybody was afraid of their supernatural powers. They could heal the sick and punish those who did not believe in them. They would help those who paid them much, and kill those who were against them. Now, there were three men in one tribe: They lived at K-lax-g-ils River, on the south side of the Skeena River. They talked day by day of the power of the shamans and how they obtained their power One of these men said to his friends, ‘‘I heard of a deep pit down on this side of Skeena River, where some people went down and obtained their power from the supernatural being in the hole.’ Therefore they all decided one day to go down and see the pit. One day they took a canoe, and the three went aboard. They started from K-lax-g-ils by canoe, and before dark they reached the deep pit. There they waited until the following day, and in the night they offered food to the supernatural being in the pit. Early the following day they all went up to where the great pit was. When they arrived there, they found a deep pit at the foot of a steep rock in a cave. They called the cave Cave Of Fear. Nobody except great shamans can enter it. Now, these men did not know what to do. Therefore one of them said, ‘‘Let us take a cedar-bark rope, and we will climb down!” So they took a long cedar-bark line. They tied one man to the end of it, and two let him down gently. As they were letting him down, and when he was halfway down, the man who was tied to the end of the line shouted, ‘‘ Haul me up again, haul me up again, lest I die!”’ The two men who were standing at the mouth of the pit pulled as hard as they could; and when the man came up again, his body was red from the stings of insects, and he told them that when he was halfway down the pit a great swarm of insects came and stung him. Then the second man tied a rope around his body, and they let him down the pit. When he was halfway down, the swarm of buzzing insects attacked him. They stung his body so that he cried out louder and louder, and those who were standing at the mouth of the pit hauled him up again; and when he reached the surface, behold! his body was bleeding. Then the third man, the steersman of the canoe, tied the end of the cedar-bark line around his body. They let him down gently, and he went right down to the bottom of the dark pit. He did not feel the stings of the insects. There was thick darkness down below, and he groped along the bottom. The line was still tied to his 1 Notes, p. 859. 332 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 body. While he was groping about there, he heard a noise like the rolling of thunder in the bottom of the great pit. It resounded again and again. Then a great door opened on the east side of the bottom of the pit, and, behold! a hairy young man stood there, who inquired of him why he had come to the pit. The man replied that he had come because they were in need of a great shaman. So the hairy man invited him in. The door which had opened looked like the sun shining through a window. The steersman went in there. Inside there were not many people, only a great chief sitting in front of a large fire. He wore his crown of grizzly-bear claws filled with eagle down. Two live rattles were on the ground on each side, and he wore his dancing-apron. When the man came into the house, the chief did not look at him. The man went in and sat down by the side of the great fire. No one spoke to him. After a while another door opened on the east side of the house, and a young shaman came in with his crown of grizzly- bear claws on his head, his apron tied around his waist, and a rattle in his right hand, an eagle tail in his left. Then the boards for beating time ran in through the door like serpents, and each laid itself on one side of the large fire. Then weasel batons ran along behind the boards. The young shaman began to sing his own song; and as he shook his rattle, the weasel batons began to beat of themselves, and a skin drum ran ahead and beat of itself. Then a great many shamans came out, and each took his own supernatural power out of his mouth, and put it into the mouth of the visitor. When they had all done so, the great chief who had been sitting by the fire stood up and stepped up to the man, put his hands on him, and rubbed his eyes four times. Then he went back to his place and sat down, and all the shamans were gone. The man did not see where they had gone to, but they all vanished from his sight. Suddenly he was again in complete darkness, and he felt that the line was still tied around his body. He shook it, and shouted, and they pulled him up. Then the men went back to their own town; and when they had gone halfway, the man in the bow of the canoe fell back in a faint, but the two others poled up the river. Before they arrived at home, the man in the middle of the canoe fell back in a faint, and the man in the stern poled the canoe up to their home. The two men who had fainted vomited blood as a sign that they had obtained supernatural power, and they became shamans. Only one of them had not obtained supernatural power, and no dream had come to him. He was still waiting. After a long while these two men went about and healed the sick. Now, at the end of the summer the supernatural powers took the man away from home. Nobody knew where he had gone. At the Peay ery 4 ae le BOoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 333 end of four days he was found lying on the floor of his house, and around him terrible whistling was heard. No one went near him. He was alone in his house singing and ready to work. Therefore he called all the people into his house, and he told them how he had entered the house of the supernatural power in the pit; and he said, ‘They have given me great powers to do what nobody else can do. I will bring back to life the dead.” The supernatural power had given him the name Only One. He did wonderful work among the people, healing them, reviving the dead; and his fame spread through all the villages round about, and many sick people were anxious to see him. Other shamans tried to kill him with their powers, but he destroyed them all; and not many people died in his time, because the diseases were afraid of him. Every day he was called into another village by rich and poor, and he came to be very wealthy. Some shamans, however, were jealous of him because his supernatural power was stronger than theirs, so they sought how they might kill him. He did all his duty among the sick people, and those who were sick loved him. One day a canoe came in front of his house. It was sent by a chief in another village to call him, for the chief’s son was very sick. Only One’s supernatural power told him that the prince was not sick, but that they wanted to kill him and his supernatural power. Then the great shaman called all his attendants. They took a large canoe and went down the river; and when they arrived, all the people of the village went into the chief’s house. Only One had on his crown of grizzly-bear claws and his apron; he had his live rattle in his right hand and the white eagle tail in his left. He put around his neck the ring set with bones representing various kinds of animals. He went up to the house with his attendants; and as soon as he came in, he stood over the sick one, and asked him, “ How long have you been sick?”” He replied, ‘‘Not many days.’-—‘‘ You pretended to be sick. Therefore from this time on you shall never be well again your whole life long.”’ The chief ordered his attendants to give them to eat. Therefore they spread the mats on one side of the large fire, and they served them with food. Then the chief ordered his attend- ants to bring water. They were to bring water from an old rotten canoe. The young men went; and before they came in, Only One’s supernatural power told him that they were bringing water mixed with urine. When the young men came in, the chief asked them to give water to the shaman first. They did as they were ordered; and when the shaman took up the bucket, he stood up and said to the young man who brought it to him, “ Drink this water yourself or you will die right here. Go and drink your own urine!” Then this 3384 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pru. ANN. 31 young man was very much ashamed, and he died right there. Then the shaman went back to his home by canoe. They were not very far from the village they had left when Only One said, “I will take that spring of water with me to my own house.”’ So they went ashore to where the spring of water was—the spring of the rotten old canoe. He carried it in his grizzly-bear garment. He went down to his canoe, and the spring was dried up. He took it along up river. Before they arrived at their own town, they camped. He went up and opened his grizzly-bear garment and put the new spring there. It is still there. Not many days passed before a large canoe came from another village, from Grit-qxa’la. They were sent by another shaman who was very sick. Only One went there with his attendants; and when they arrived, the G:it-qxa’la men tried to kill him; but they could not do it, for Only One’s supernatural power foretold him what they were going to do to him. When they had gone up to the house of the sha- man who said that he was ill, he entered, and saw a man who was verysick. The sick person was very thin. He was almost only bones. Then Only One knew what made him sick, for one of his supernatural powers had been placed in the bone of a corpse. Only One took it out from there, and the sick man’s supernatural power recovered, and the sick shaman also revived. Therefore the sick shaman paid him well. Before Only One left the village, the cannibal dancer invited him and all his attendants, and they cooked seal for them. They cut up the seal skin and blubber in a long line from the foot to the head of the seal, and they cooked it; and three cannibals took care of one box in which the seal was being cooked, but the box of which the three men took care contained the meat of dead people. They thought that when the great shaman should eat flesh of the dead people, he would also die, and all his supernatural power would flee from him. Before they brought the boiled seal to them, Only One’s supernatural power came to him and told him that they were ready to give him the flesh of dead people. He said, “‘ You shall eat it, and Twill help you and take it out of your left side; and after you have eaten it, give each of them a piece.”’ Now they were ready. The three great men took a long pointed staff, and each had a piece of meat at the end of the staff. They placed this before Only One, and the great shaman opened his mouth and swallowed a piece at a time; and after he had eaten the three pieces, he stood up quickly, opened his left side, and rubbed it, and the end of the piece of meat of a corpse which he had eaten came out. He took the end and pulled it out. Then he went to the three men who had each given hima piece. He stood before the first one, Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 335 and said, “‘ Now, great shaman, open your mouth and eat this!’’ The man opened his mouth and ate slowly. Only One pulled out the other piece and gave to the second man, saying, “‘ Now, great shaman, eat this!”” Then he pulled out the last piece and gave to the last one, and he said, ‘‘ Now, great shaman, open your mouth and eat this meat of acorpse!’’ and after he had done so, the three men died right there. Then all the people were afraid of him. Only One’s fame was spread over all the villages. Many years passed, and he was always wandering about doing his work. One winter while he was seated in his house, one of his supernatural powers came to him and foretold that three messengers would come in the evening from another chief, Bagus,! whose son had been sick for a long time. ‘There is not a shaman who can cure him. You shall go with them, and I shall be with you and help you, but do not leave your chamber-vessel. Take it along when you go; and as often as you feel that you are almost unconscious, take some of the urine in your mouth and blow it into the air above your head, until you arrive in the house of the chief Bagus.”’ Late in the evening the great shaman called all his nephews, andasked them, ‘‘Who will go with me tonight when the messengers come to take me away from here?” One of the young men said, ‘‘I will go with you, uncle.”’ When all the people of the village were asleep, about midnight, the messengers came in. Only One awoke when they came. They called him, and he went down with them. Only One saw a new canoe on the beach. They all went aboard, and Only One was ready. He wore his crown of grizzly-bear claws, and he held his live rattle in his right hand, and his root-basket chamber-vessel in his left. He also wore his apron. Then the three messengers said, ‘‘Lie down in the canoe!”’ but he did not doso, because hissupernatural power told him to keep awake, lest he die, because these messengers were dangerous animals. Before daylight they reached the front of Chief Bagus’s town. While they were on their way, and before they reached the town, Only One felt that he was losing consciousness. Then he took the urine out of the basket and blew it into the air, as his super- natural power had ordered him, and his heart became strong again; but the three men put their hands to their noses because they could not endure the smell. Twice these three men tried to make Only One unconscious, but on account of the smell they were in great fear of him. They were afraid they would die before they reached home. As soon as the canoe touched the shore, the shaman jumped ashore and walked up to the house of Chief Bagus, led by the three messengers. He entered there, and the sick prince of Bagus lay there; and an old shaman was seated by the foot of the prince, holding his rattle in his hand. 1 Kwakiutl, BEK!us (“man of the woods”’), a being supposed to take away hunters (see p. 476). 336 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 Only One stood by the sick prince’s head, and he saw an arrow right between his ribs. Chief Bagus, sitting in the rear of his house, said to him, ‘‘My dear Only One, I ask you to cure my sick son.” Only One went toward the sick person, took the end of the broken arrow, and pulled it out, and he rubbed the wounded side of the prince Bagus, and the prince was cured and arose. The great chief was glad to see that his son was cured. Only One wanted to go back home in the evening, and the chief promised to send him home in the night. Only One went to the old shaman and asked him how long he had been in there. He told him that Chief Bagus had invited him when he was young, but that now he was very old, and that also part of his body had become stone, and that therefore he could not go back home. He told him that many shamans had tried to heal the prince, and that they had all failed, and that the chief had thrown them into a lake of blood, and that they were still there. In the evening Only One went out with the Prince of Bagus; and the prince caught one child that was playing outside, and gave it to Only One to be his supernatural power. So he took it, and placed it in his long hair. He went down to the beach and boarded the same new canoe, and the same three men paddled away toward his home. As soon as the canoe touched the shore, the sun rose, and the canoe and the three men who took him home were transformed into a log of driftwood. Only One lived many years after this; and it is said that he never died, but that he was taken by the supernatural powers into their home in the deep pit. 56. Story OF THE GuHosT! Long ago there were many people in the various villages among the Indians. A large village of three rows was situated on Grits !emga’l6n River, and a great many people were in that village, who shouted when the geese were flying over the village. When they shouted, the geese would fall down to the ground and die. They were very healthy, and had a great chief and chieftainess, who had an only son, whom they loved much, and all the people of the village loved him much. The prince was called Brown Eagle. The only kind of food he ate was salmon-dip (?), and everybody in the village knew that he only ate salmon-dip; therefore in summer everybody cut out the salmon-dips and sent them to the chief’s son. They did this for many years, and everybody loved him tenderly. It came to pass, when this prince had grown up to be a young man, that he became sick. He was very ill, and it was not many days before he died. Then all the people mourned for him. His father 1 Notes, p. 860. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS Sor and mother mourned very much for his sake. After four days had passed, they put his body in a coffin and placed it on the burial-place, and every morning his parents burned salmon-dips on his grave.' After two or three months they buried him. The great chief called his great slave, and ordered him to run out and tell his tribe to move away from the old village site; therefore the great slave ran out and shouted, and said, ‘‘Move away from the village site, people!” Therefore the people moved from their old home, for they were ordered to do so by the great chief, and they built their new village. They had been there for two years, and still the parents of the prince were in deep sorrow. One day some young women assembled, and one middle-aged woman was with them. They were going to dig fern roots, and went up to the old village and camped near the burial-place; and while they dug for fern roots, they saw a large com- pany of young men, who had followed them, and who helped the women digging fern roots. Late in the evening the young women told the young men to dig holes and to throw in red-hot stones, on which they were going to cook the fern roots. Therefore the young men dug a large hole in the ground and burned many stones in it; and when the stones were red-hot, they took the ashes from among the hot stones, placed wet moss over them, and placed the fern roots on top in good order. Then they covered them over with more wet moss. They covered the hole with earth and ashes, which they piled up high. Then they built a large fire on top, and the young women prepared supper. First they served dried salmon with salmon-dips. Then the young men felt very happy; and one very foolish youth said, when he found a salmon-dip, ‘‘Here! I found a salmon-dip, which was Brown Eagle’s best food.” Then they all shouted and laughed. ‘‘Here, here!” they said; and one of them said, ‘‘Let us see if he will not come from his grave when we call him, and we will lift the salmon-dips and feed him.’”’ Then all the young men agreed. One of them took up several salmon-dips, and said, ‘‘ Brown Eagle, come down and eat these salmon-dips, which were your best food while you lived in years gone by!” Then the middle-aged woman stopped them, and said, ‘‘ Don’t speak like that to the dead prince!”’ but all the young men repeated it. The young women were all afraid, but the young men lifted their voices and shouted, ‘‘Come down, Brown Eagle, and eat your best food!” Again the middle-aged woman said, ‘Don’t, don’t! It is improper to mock the dead.” 1 In olden times it was the custom that when a prince or rich man, or a chieftainess or princess, or some- body who was dear to them, died, they cut the corpse and took out the bowels, stomach, heart, liver, and lungs; and when the body was empty, they put shredded red-cedar bark into it, and they kept the body for along while. They burned the bowels, stomach, heart, liver, and lungs immediately after taking them out. Therefore they did this with the prince —HENRY W. TATE. 50633°—31 ETH—16——22 338 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ern. AWN. 31 While they were laughing and joking and making merry around the large fire, the middle-aged woman took her two grandchildren and said to them, ‘‘Let us hide under the fallen tree yonder, lest misfortune come upon us if we stay with these foolish young people here!’’ so they crept away and hid under the fallen tree. Before they reached there, they heard a terrible noise proceeding from the old burial-ground, and a dreadful mourning voice, which said, ‘‘Let me have it!” Then the old woman took her two grand- children, put them under the log, and spread her mats over them. She herself went back to where the young people were. Then all the young men stopped their joyous singing and shouting, and terror came into their hearts. The old woman said, ‘‘Now, young men, call him again!”’ but they were all silent. Behold! the Ghost was coming—the skeleton of Brown Eagle— with arms stretched out in front, and saying, ‘‘Let me have it!”’ His head was just the skull, with dark, empty eye-sockets. The young women were very much frightened, and the young men as well. Now some of them ran into the large fire, and were burned there; and when the doleful sounds of the Ghost were coming nearer, the rest of the young people ran to and fro, feeling full of fear. They all tried to escape, but the Ghost took their breaths, and at last they all lay dead around their large fire. Only the old woman and her two grand- children were saved out of the many young people. Early the next morning the old woman arose and went to where she had hidden her two grandchildren. She called them, and went first to the large fire. There they saw many dead bodies lying around the fire. Many of them were scorched in the ashes. Then they went down to the new village and told the story to the people. Therefore the parents of all the young people went, and arrived at the place; and they saw the bodies of all the young people lying around the ashes, some of them scorched by the fire. So they all wept over them and carried them down to their new village. The wise men said to the parents of those who were dead, ‘‘Call all the shamans, and let us hear what they have to say!” So they called them all into the house where the dead bodies lay, and they put all the bodies in good order. Then all the people of the village came in. When the shamans were working with their supernatural powers, a new shaman said, ‘‘ Let us have a great war with the Ghost, because the souls of these young people are living in the house of the chief of the Ghosts! Tonight all the Ghosts will assemble in their chief’s house. Therefore let us go there before that time. If we do not get them tonight, then all our young people will be dead for good.” Therefore all the shamans consented, and before dusk they put on their armor and took their weapons; and they went forth from the Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 339 house where the dead were, to go and fight with the Ghosts. They marched up to the burial-ground very quietly, while the attendants kept on singing in the house, beating the skin drums with their drumsticks. When the shamans arrived at the burial-place, the new shaman said, ‘‘Now, my dear friends, two of you shall enter at each rear corner, and two at each front corner, of the house of the Ghost chief, and I will shout outside of the house. Then all the rest of our friends shall shake their rattles, and the bones with supernatural power which hang around your necks.”’ Then the four shamans in the house of the Ghosts shall shake their rattles and the bones on their neck-rings, and then all of us will enter; and when all the Ghosts run out, each of us will take the soul of one of the young people.’’ After the new shaman had finished his speech, he walked around the grave four times, following the course of the sun. He was shouting louder and louder; and when the four shamans in the house of the Ghost heard the shouting outside, they began to shake their rattles and the bones on their neck-rings, and all the shamans who stood near the grave shook theirs also; and when the Ghosts heard the noise of the bones around the shamans’ necks and their rattles, they ran out of the house, but the souls of the young people remained inside the house of the chief of the Ghosts. Then all the shamans rushed in, and each took the soul of one of these young men who had died the night before, and whose bodies were scorched in the fire. Their souls were about to run out with the Ghosts, for they were really dead. Then the shamans went down to the house where the bodies of the young people were, while the attendants were singing and beating the skin drums. Then all the shamans came in and did their work. Then the new shaman said, ‘‘ Now, friends, let us return the souls that we have to the bodies to which they belong!’’ and each shaman put the soul of a young person into his body, and the young people awoke, like persons who have been asleep. They went to their homes, but they were not yet like living beings. Therefore their parents paid the shamans again to take off the ghostly quality from these young people. The shamans worked over them for four days, and then life came back to them. The people said, therefore, that no young people should go about alone, without their parents. That is the end. 57. Tart Man Wuo Bounp Up His WrinkieEs! There was a shaman who lived on a little island outside of Inver- ness, at the mouth of Skeena River. He had a little house on the little island; and he used to make arrows, which he sold among the 1 Notes, p. 860. 340 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 tribes. His arrows were very valuable because they were handsome and had pretty feathers. He was a very old man, and there were wrinkles all over his ugly face. He used to go into the chief’s house, and sell his nicely feathered arrows. The old man was known to all the chiefs and all the people, who bought his arrows. Some time in winter one of the head chief’s daughters was missing, and they could not find her. Every year they missed one or two princesses in every village among the Tsimshian; and they did not know where they had gone, although they would go and search for them among the tribes. Now, when all the princesses were gone, the last princess went with her two maidens into the woods behind her father’s house. Before they had gone very far, a good-looking young man came out of the woods and met the princess. His blond hair was tied at the back of his head. He smiled at her, and the princess looked at him and also smiled. He said to her kindly, ‘‘What are you going to do, and where are you going?” She replied with her gentle voice, and said, “Tam just taking a walk.’’—‘‘Shall I go with you?” said he. She smiled, and said, ‘‘If you like, come.”” Then the young man walked by her side. He asked the princess to leave her two maidens behind, and to go with him farther on. Therefore the princess said to her two maidens, “‘Stay here a while until we go a little farther on!” Therefore the two maidens staid there, while they went on. They sat down, and the good-looking young man said, “Shall I take you to my father’s house?’’ The princess said, ‘‘ Yes, if you desire to do so.”’ They went on their way, and came to the place where his canoe lay. It was a nice little canoe, and there were many good, warm garments in it. “Now, my dear,’’ said the young man, “lie down in the canoe, and I will paddle along until we reach my home. Then I will wake youup.” She did as he told her, and he paddled along until evening. There was a thick fog. Then the man called the princess, and she arose and saw the thick fog. She went ashore, and the young man guided her up to the house; and when she went in, she saw a nice little room full of all kinds of expensive garments, abalone ear- rings and everything that is costly. A little later the young man came in and said, “Lie down here, my dear! I will bring you to my father’s house tomorrow! I must go back to my canoe and tie up the anchor-line.’’ Then the princess made the bed ready and lay down. After a little while the young man came in. The princess put her hands around his head and pressed it toward herself. She loved him very much. On the following morning they slept until very late. The princess had her right hand under his head around his neck. When she awoke from her deep sleep, she opened her eyes, and saw an ugly- BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 341 looking old man on her right side. She rubbed her eyes. Then she recognized him as the wrinkled old man who always came into her father’s house and sold him nice arrows. Then she began to ery. Finally the old man woke up. He saw her weeping, and asked her, ““Why are you so sad?’’—“QOh,” said the princess, “I was thinking of my poor father, who would be missing me!’’—‘‘ Don’t cry so!’’ said the old man, looking at her with his ugly face. “ You can go back there easily. It is not very far. But lie here a little longer!’ She was still crying, but he compelled her to lie down with him. She obeyed because she was afraid of him, but her heart was full of sorrow on account of her doings. Not many days had passed when he said to her, ““Go with me to that rock yonder! We will gather some nice feathers which I need for my arrows, and then I will take you back to your father’s house.”’ On the following day he took down his little canoe. The princess went aboard first with her hand basket, which he had taken along. The old man paddled along toward the grassy rock; and when he reached there, he said to her, “Go ashore on that grassy rock!” The princess arose and jumped out of the canoe. Then the old man pushed his canoe off from the grassy rock, and said, “Now, I leave you on that bare rock, and you shall die there, you bad, common woman!’’ The princess screamed and asked him to take pity on her. She said, ‘‘My dear, don’t leave me alone on this bare rock!’ But the old man said, ‘No, I know that you hate me.’’ The princess replied, ‘No, I love you very much, my dear husband! Come, take me off from this bare rock! Take pity on me! You shall have my body. I willlet you have my father’s slaves or his costly coppers. I know you are a good shaman.”’ The bad shaman, however, did not listen to the princess, but laughed at her and mocked her. He asked her to do various shame- ful things; and she did so, because she was afraid that he might leave her. In vain she did everything her husband wanted her to do. She cried very loud; and before the bad shaman left the grassy rock, he shouted to heaven. Then the princess ceased her crying in order to hear what the old man said. He shouted four times. Then he paddled away quickly from the bare rock The princess looked up, and she saw numerous birds coming down from above. She ran to and fro on the bare rock, crying. She went down to the beach, trying to find shelter. She found a small cave near the water and hid in there. Then all the birds of beautiful feather remained sitting on the rock a short time and flew up again to heaven; and when the princess came out again from her hiding- place in the cave, she saw the beautiful feathers of the heavenly 342 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 birds lymg on the rock. She gathered them all, and she also saw bare bones on the rock and hand baskets. Now, the princess knew that this bad old man had killed all the princesses who had been lost year after year. She wept again, sitting there all alone. Four days passed, and early in the morning she saw a canoe coming down from the little island where the bad shaman lived. Therefore ‘she hid in the rock on the beach, and she put some seaweed on her head. She heard the old man sing a canoe-song. He seemed very happy. He reached the place where the princess was in hiding on the beach, and tied his line firmly around the solid rock. Then he went to the top of the rock. The princess crept out of her hiding-place, went into the canoe, cut the line with her little woman’s knife, and pushed the canoe off from the rock with all her might. When the canoe was a little way off, the old ugly man looked back, and he saw his canoe on the water with the young princess in it. Then he said, “Is that you, my dear wife? I came to take you back to your father’s house. Come ashore, and take me with you! Ever since I left you I have not been able to sleep. I have always been thinking of you, my dear wife! Do come ashore and take me!”’ The princess replied, ‘No, I will not take you, for you are fooling me, and you intended to kill me. Besides, I saw all the bare bones of the princesses on the bare rock. There you have killed them, you bad shaman! I[ will give your flesh to the birds of the air, and your bare bones shall lie on that rock!’ Then the old man cried bitterly, and said, “Take pity on me, take pity on me, my good child! Come and take me with you! I won’t deceive you.” The princess in the canoe, however, said, ‘‘I will shout and call down all the birds of heaven and give them your flesh, as you did to my fellow-princesses on this bare rock!’’ and then she shouted as the old man had done. She shouted four times and paddled away from the rock. When she had gone some distance and looked back, she saw that the heavens were darkened by numerous birds. They went down to the rock where the old man was and devoured him there. She paddled away, and in the evening she arrived at her father’s town. She went in and sat down by her mother’s side. Her mother looked at her, and said, ‘‘Is that you, my daughter ?’’—‘‘ Yes, mother, T am still alive,” said the princess. ‘‘Where is my father ?’’—‘‘He was invited by some of his own people who wanted to comfort him, for he was in deep sorrow while you were gone.” Then some one ran and told the great chief that his daughter had come home, and all rushed out and assembled in the chief’s house, Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 343 and the princess began to tell her story—what had happened to her, how she had been deceived by the old shaman. After she had told her story, she wept. Then she said to her father, ‘‘Invite all the chiefs of all the tribes who lost their daughters.” Then the father of the princess sent a messenger to all the tribes, and they all came in at the right time; and after the chief had given them to eat, he said, ‘‘The princess my daughter was lost a few days ago, and she came back last night. She shall tell you what has become of your lost children.”’—‘‘They were all killed by the bad shaman who had his house on the little island outside of Sliding Mountain. He took me away from my two maidens and transformed himself into a handsome young man to deceive me. When I first met him in the woods, he told me that he would take me to his father’s house. I myself, as well as my two maidens, saw that his hair was blond and tied at the back of his head. He was more beautiful than all the young men, and so I consented to let him take me with him. When we came to his canoe, I saw that it was full of costly garments, and he told me to lie down in it. I did so, and at midnight we arrived at his home. It was foggy when we went to his house. On the following morning, when I awoke from my sleep, [ looked at his face, and saw that it was wrinkled. Then T recognized him, and knew that he had come from time to time to my father’s house to sell his beautiful arrows. He told me his name was The Man Who Bound Up His Wrinkles At The Back Of His Head. After two or three days had passed, he said to me, ‘I will take you to the grassy rock to comfort you, and you will see nice feathers there, and we shall find beautiful abaloneshells.’ So he took me to the grassy rock; and when I left the canoe, he took his pole and pushed his canoe from the rock, and told me that he would leave me alone on that bare rock. J screamed and cried from fear, and asked him to take me to my father, and I did everything he wanted me to do on that rock. I pleaded with him in vain. He called me a common bad woman, and last of all he shouted to heaven after he had said that he would give my body to the birds of the air. Then he shouted four times, and, behold! all the birds descended to the rock to devour me; but I hid under a rock on the beach, and he paddled away with all his might. Then the whole rock was full of birds. Soon they went up again, and I walked about the rock. There I saw all the bare bones of human beings, and hand baskets by their sides; and I wept much, for I knew that the bad man had killed all our lost princesses. After T had staid four days on the bare rock, I walked about on that rock, and saw a canoe coming down from the little island, and I saw that he was coming to gather the beautiful bird feathers. I hid on the beach and put seaweed over my head. He arrived right in front of me, and was singing his merry canoe-song. He came ashore with the 344 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pri ANN. 31 canoe-line in his hands, and tied it firmly to the rock. When he has- tened to the top of the rock, I cut the line and pushed off the canoe from the rock. He looked at me, and said that he intended to come and take me home, but I paid no attention to what he said; and I shouted, as he had done. He was anxious to stop me, but I shouted four times, and I saw the birds of heaven descend to the rock when I paddled away from it.” Thus said the princess, and all the chiefs wept. On the following morning all the tribes went with the princess to go to the grassy rock. Before they reached there, the princess asked them to let her father go first. He went ashore first; and after he had gathered beautiful feathers, all the other chiefs came ashore. They picked up their daughters’ hand baskets, gathered their bare bones, and took them home. On that day there was great mourning on the island by the parents of those princesses who had been lost. They saw the bare bones of the bad shaman there, and every one who passed them threw stones at them. The father of the princess went to the little island and took from the house of The Man Who Bound Up His Wrinkles At The Back Of His Head all kinds of costly garments and all kinds of arrows and feath- ers, and abalone shells of all kinds; and when they came home, the chief returned to his fellow-chiefs their children’s garments, and he gave them ten beautiful feathers with each garment, and the princess was honored by all the tribes on that day. 58. Tue Broruers Wuo VIsIrED THE Sxy! Three brothers went up the mountains to hunt. They lay down to sleep, and when they awoke they saw the stars above so near that they could touch them. They found that they were on a flat rock which had arisen high above the ground. They had nothing to eat and no water to drink. The eldest one spoke. ‘‘What shall we do? Let us cut ropes from the skins of large mountain goats and climb down to the ground!”’ But the youngest one replied, ‘‘No, let us wait! Per- haps he who took us up while we were asleep will take us back in our sleep.” They followed his adyice and lay down to sleep. Suddenly the youngest one heard a voice, saying, ‘‘Take a round pebble and hold itin your mouth!’ It was the daughter of the Sun who was speaking thus. He followed her order; and when he awoke on the following morning, he saw his brothers lying there dead. In his dream he had seen that they left him and tried to climb down to the ground. Since they had not prayed, they had perished in the attempt. Then the young man prayed to the Sun, the Moon, and the Stars. He put his arrow into the crack of the rock, tied a rope to it, and climbed down. He got back safe. 1 Translated from Boas 1, p. 290—Notes, p. 861. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 345 59. Srx Hunters ! Six men went out hunting. They kept their provisions in a small hut made of fir twigs. In the evening, when they came back, they found that asquirrel had stolen them. They became angry, caught the squirrel, and threw it into the fire, so that its tail was burned. Then they lay down to sleep. On the following morning they found them- selves, together with their six dogs, in a deep pit, and unable to climb out of it. Since they were very hungry, they killed one of their dogs and threw it into the fire to roast it. Suddenly they saw the dog alive on top of the pit. When the men saw this, five jumped into the fire. Only one, the son of a chief, waited patiently for his death. Suddenly he saw the others standing on the rim of the pit, and he asked them to go home and to request his friends to help him out. In the evening he lay down to sleep. Suddenly he heard a voice, and saw a Mouse, who asked him to follow her. He arose, and the Mouse led him into a house, in which he found an old woman, the Squirrel. She said, ‘‘It is fortunate that you did not jump into the fire, else you would be dead. All your companions are dead now. When you wake up in the morning, take the narrow trail that you will see. Do not take the wide one.” The following morning, when he awoke, he found himself in the forest, and saw the bones of his companions lying on the ground. He took the narrow path, and arrived at home. When he told his adven- tures, the people became angry, and resolved to kill the squirrels. They caught all of them except one female, and killed them. Then the only surviving Squirrel wept, and cried, ‘‘After four days your whole town shall be burned!”’ and so it happened. Only the house of the young chief was spared. 60. Tar Lanp Orter? When a person capsizes, the Land Otter people catch him, and he himself is transformed into a land otter. Once upon a time there was a man who claimed that even if he should capsize, he would never yield to the Land Otters. One day when he was traveling with his sister his canoe capsized. He swam ashore, and saw a fire, which seemed to move away from him all the time. He did not follow it, but started a fire where he had gone ashore. While he was sitting there warming his back, he heard a canoe, He just turned around, and immediately looked back toward the woods. The canoe came ashore, but he did not move. The people came up to his fire. Immediately he got up, went down to the canoe, and threw all the paddles into the fire. Immediately these were trans- 1 Translated from Boas 1, p. 304.—Notes, p. 861. 2 Translated from Boas 1, p. 290.—Notes, p. 862. 346 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [erH. ANN. 31 formed into minks, which cried pitifully. The people disappeared, and their canoe took its true shape. It was an old log of driftwood. After a while the Land Otters made another attempt to get hold of the man, but in vain. One evening, while he was seated by the fire, he heard the voice of a woman, saying, ‘‘My dear, don’t be afraid! Iam your friend. Here I have food for you. Trust me!’’ Immediately a woman stepped up to him and gave him fish and seaweed. Although he was very hungry, he did not eat. The voice called him by name, and promised to bring him food regularly, saying, ‘‘Don’t look at me, just look at the dishes!” but he looked straight in her face, and shouted, ‘‘Eat it yourself, you Land Otter!’ The woman continued to ask him to accept the food, but he did not yield. Every evening he heard her voice. One day it seemed to him that the voice was like that of his sister who was drowned when his canoe was capsized. He questioned her, and she replied, ‘Yes, I am your sister’s ghost.”’” Then he thought, ‘“‘T ought not to be afraid of my own sister,’ and accepted what she offered to him. The food did not do him any harm. Then he began to hunt seals, which he killed with his club. Nevertheless he contin- ued to be on his guard, for he was afraid of the Land Otters; and he made up his mind that if a canoe should arrive, he would first burn the paddles and knock a hole in the body of the canoe, in order to make sure that the visitors were not Land Otters. Finally, after he had been away for a whole month, a real canoe came and took him home. Thus he was saved. 61. THe DELuGE! At the end of our ancestors’ time the people lived on Skeena River, as I have told in another story, in a place named Prairie Town; and most of the people were clever, good hunters, and brave war- riors. One day some hunters left their home and went toward the east. They came to a great lake named Lake Of The Beginning. This was the lake of Skeena River. When the hunters reached there, the waters of the great lake began to rise, and the lake overflowed. The waters ran down the Skeena River, and almost all the villages on the river were swept by the currents. The hunters looked on, and, behold! a great whale? rose to the surface of the lake. The water of the Lake Of The Beginning rose because the great whale came up. It had gills like a fish, and four fins in a row along the back, like the fin of a killer whale which is near its spouting-hole. When the great whale went down, the waters subsided. The next year two brothers of the same village started and went to the Lake Of The Beginning to get supernatural power. The elder 1 Notes, p. 862. 2 Hak!ula’q. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 347 one went out into the water; and when the water reached above his knees, he went down to the bottom of the great lake. Then the water rose again as before, and the great whale came out. The younger brother remained on the shore. He saw the waters rising higher and higher; and the Skeena River was flooded again, for the water of the ereat lake rose higher than ever. As soon as the man had gone down, he saw a large house at the bottom of the lake. He entered; and no one was in there, but a large fire was burning in the middle of the house, and he himself sat down on a mat which was spread by the side of the fire. After he had been sitting there for a while, the door opened suddenly, and, behold! a flash of lightning came in. This happened four times. Thunder was rolling four times. It was a terrible thunderclap. After it had thundered four times, it began to hail, and it was terrible hail. Soon after this a large Grizzly Bear came out from the carved screen in the middle of the rear of the house. The Grizzly Bear came toward the man who was seated on the mat by the large fire. The Grizzly Bear stood in front of him, and said, ‘‘Open my back!” Thus spoke the Grizzly Bear to the man. The man did so, and the Bear had become a carved box. Then the Thunderbird came from behind the carvedscreen. The Thunderbird came up to the man, and said to him, ‘‘Take me and put me into the box!” The man took it and put it into the grizzly-bear box, and the Thunderbird became a drum, and the lightning was his red ocher. Then Living Eyes came forth from behind the carved screen; and after a while, behold! -a very large animal came in at the door, which they call at this time Mouth At Each End. It came toward the man, stood in front of him, and said, ‘‘Take me and put me into the box!” A Cuttlefish also came, went toward the man, and said, ‘‘Take me and put me into the box!”” The man took both of them and put them into the grizzly-bear box. At last the Living Eyes came in. It was the hail. It was a baton. It also went toward the man, and said, “Take me and put me into the box!’ The man took it and put it into the carved box. Still no living person was to be seen in the house. Then he started for home; and the live Grizzly Bear said to. him, “Your name shall be Mouth At Each End.” The man came ashore with the Grizzly Bear walking by his side. The man had been in the depths of the Lake Of The Beginning quite a long while. His brother had been waiting for him since the water began to subside, after it had risen and overflowed the banks of Lake Of The Beginning. He had been waiting there for twenty days. He was hungry, and sat down at the foot of a large spruce tree and died of starvation. Then the martens came and ate him. They ate all the 348 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 flesh of his body, and devoured it; and only his bare bones were left where he had been sitting. As soon as his brother, Mouth At Each End, came ashore from the lake, he looked, and, behold! his brother’s skeleton was lying there at the foot of a large spruce tree. Then the brother who had just come from out of the water cried because he saw his brother’s bare bones lying there. He went toward them and tried to restore him to life. He took up some earth and rubbed it with his hands over the bare bones of his brother, in order to restore the flesh. Soon the bare bones became covered with flesh again, but they hadnoskin. Therefore he took a small root to make sinews, and Mouth At Each End danced around the body with his supernatural powers. Then he took up moss and rubbed it over the flesh, and it became skin. Thus he made him alive again; and he made his brother ashaman, and gave him the name Devoured By The Martens. Mouth At Each End caught the martens which had eaten his brother’s flesh, and put the live martens into his brother, and he gave him a vessel of blood to be his supernatural power. They went home with the live Grizzly Bear, who walked down with them. As soon as they came to their house, Mouth At Each End was able to cure all kinds of diseases, and he was able to heal persons who had died suddenly. Then all the supernatural beings in the mountains heard that Mouth At Each End had a really great supernatural helper, and tried to kilhim. Mouth At Each End, however, knew about it, and was ready to fight with them. As soon as one of the supernatural powers or a shaman came secretly to kill him, the shaman Mouth At Each. End sent his supernatural helpers Mouth At Each End and Cuttlefish, who killed those who tried to murder their master; or, if a shaman came through the water, Mouth At Each End and Cuttlefish would go into the water and destroy him; or, if a shaman with his super- natural helpers came overland, the Grizzly Bear would fight him and destroy him; or, if a supernatural power came up flying through the air, Thunderbird and Lightning with Hail would destroy him. Therefore the supernatural beings from all parts of the world could not kill this shaman, Mouth At Each End. At last two great shamans came along in their canoe. We call these hermaphrodites. Two of them were in one canoe. Then Mouth At Each End sent down his supernatural helpers, Mouth At Each End and Cuttlefish, and the two shamans sent up their super- natural helper, which was Blood. Thus the supernatural helpers of Mouth At Each End were killed by the Blood; and both of them died, Mouth At Each End and Cuttlefish, and the shaman Mouth At Each End also died. Only his brother, Devoured By Martens, remained. He sent forth his own supernatural helpers, Blood and Martens, who killed the two Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 349 shamans in the canoe; and he took his brother’s grizzly-bear box and the Thunderbird drum, Lightning, and Hail. His brother, Mouth At Each End, went home to the bottom of the lake, and Devoured By Martens was left alone. He conquered all the supernatural powers all around. Many years had passed, and there was a great famine in the winter. Then the people of Devoured By Martens came up to him, and said, “You have really supernatural power. Try to get some provisions for us!” So this shaman lay down on one side of the fire, and asked his friends to cover him up with a cedar-bark mat, and he began his supernatural song: Wil q!ala-lat ha°n, wil q!ala-llat ha°n La ma°tda naxn6’xstt ndat!at q!ala-ll4m ha°nt.! Every living fish, every living fish, My supernatural power told me where every living fish is now. On the following day all his relatives started. They went aboard their canoes and went down the river. They had long boards in their canoes, and tied four canoes together, putting the long boards across. The shaman lay down on these planks, which were painted red, and covered himself with a mat. These four canoes on which the shaman was lying went down first, and many canoes followed. All along the way he repeated the same words, ‘‘Every living fish, every living fish,’ and they went down the river. Theshaman said just this one phrase, ‘‘Every living fish, every living fish.” He was telling his people where every living fish was, pointing with his finger down river, until they came down to the mouth of Skeena River. Then the shaman said, ‘‘Way out at sea.” They paddled along, and soon they came near Stephens Island, where there is a good place for camping on a sandy shore. The shaman said, ‘‘This is the place that my supernatural helper has pointed out to me.” They all camped on the sandy shore; and the shaman said to his people, ‘‘Go and bring down crooked branches of red and yellow cedar.’’ His people went and fetched crooked branches. Moreover, the shaman said, ‘‘Make hooks out of them,” and they did so. They obeyed the shaman. ‘‘Let the women make fishing-lines out of red- cedar bark,’ and the women made fishing-lines. They measured off sixty fathoms for each fishing-line. Moreover, he said to them, “Go, ye women, and bring down thin spruce roots and split them!” They did as the shaman had said. Then the shaman also said to the men, ‘‘Go down when the tide is very low. Then you will find a kind of fish under the rocks, with eight legs and a round head, with 11t is not quite certain from Mr. Tate’s MS. whether these are the words sung, or a speech made by the shaman. It seems probable, however that the words are those of the song.—F. B. 350 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 eyes on the neck. Bring it up and tie it to your wooden hooks for bait.”’ The men did as the shaman had told them. After they had done so, the shaman told them to launch their canoes to go out fishing, so they went. The shaman was standing on the beach, and directed them. The shaman wore all the clothes of his supernatural helper. Devoured By Martens put on a bear skin for a garment. He had on his dancing-apron and his crown of bear claws. He painted his face red mixed with charcoal. He had a rattle in each hand, and eagle down scattered all over his body. Then the shaman said again, ‘‘Every living fish, every living fish;” and his people had to repeat what he said, ‘‘Every living fish, every living fish!” The shaman repeated this three or four times. Then they (the people) went, and the shaman remained standing there on the beach, pointing in the direction toward which they were to go. He said, “Go a little farther to the open sea, and you will find them.” They went on, and the shaman was still standing on the beach. Then he said, ‘‘Pull up your fishing-lines!”” They hauled up their lines, and all the hooks were full of halibut. The people were afraid of them because they were new to them. Finally a shaman told the people to take the halibut into their canoes. They took them ashore and cooked them, and Devoured By Martens was the first to eat of them. His supernatural helper told him that halibut is good food. So the starving people obtained the halibut. Now, they were all satisfied, for they had every living fish, as the supernatural power had told Devoured By Martens. ‘This is the first time that the people of Skeena River reached the sea, and the first time that they learned how to catch halibut at the bottom of the sea. They built a new village there, and did not return up Skeena River. This is Devoured By Martens’ dancing-song: 1. Wola ha, a wila ha, o 0, wila ha haa. Hiyu wila ha, 0 0, wila ha Dem tsal na-nexno/’xsie ul sil-hahalai‘dé. 2. Wi-tsamtit hil lax-ha’, ye, lat ts!elem-ga/°t Wi-spa-nexnd’x ts!em-si%-t!a°, ya. 1. My supernatural being will devour other shamans (?). 2. There was great lightning in the air, when the great supernatural being took me into the Lake Of The Beginning. 62. THe CANNIBAL! (This is a great story of which the people were much afraid. They had four dances, which were very curious and important,—the Can- nibal, who ate dead persons; the Dog Eater, who ate live dogs; the Destroyers, who broke up houses, canoes, and boxes; and those who 1 Notes, p. 863, BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 35)! threw hot ashes over the heads of the people. They say that the great supernatural beings from the mountains took some one and taught him how to act.) There was a young prince in a village of the G-it-q !4’°da whose name was Gather On The Water. One winter, when the time had come for his dance, his father called the companies of Cannibals to let his son join them. Therefore one day these people took the young man, took him around the village, knocked at every house, and, after they had been to every house, all the men shouted, and said that this young man had gone up into the air or that the supernatural power had taken him away to his home in the mountains. They deceived many common people. These dancers were chiefs and princesses, and all the head men, old and young. They took this young man and placed him in the trunk of a large tree secretly. They put a long ladder against the tree and sent the young man up. He went up the tree and entered a small hut. Then they took the ladder away from the tree, intending to come back at the end of ten days. The young man staid on the tree; and the first night when he was there, some one came up to his hut, and asked him, ‘‘ What are you doing in there, young man?” He replied, ‘‘I am a dancer.” Then the visitor laughed at him, and said, ‘‘That is not the way of your dance for the dancer to stay on a tree. Wait until I come again! I will show you the ways of a true dancer.’’ So he went away. After he had been away a short time, he came back with a dead child; and he said to the young man who lived in the hut on the tree, ‘‘Now open your mouth and eat this dead child!” The young man was afraid. The person who held the dead child in his arms said again, ‘‘If you don’t do it, I will eat you right here!”’ Therefore the young man opened his mouth and swallowed the dead child’s body whole. The supernatural being asked him, ‘‘Do you. feel satisfied now?’? The young man replied, ‘‘No, I do not feel that I ate anything.” —‘‘Now come with me,” said the supernatural being. They flew down to the village, and the supernatural being said to him, ‘‘Now shout and catch one of the people!”’ Then he shouted, ‘‘Hop, hop!” caught one of the young men, and ate him asa cat eats a mouse. Thus he did to the young men; and he acted like the supernatural being, which was glad to see that he had eaten a whole man. Then they went back to the tree; and the super- natural being said to him, ‘‘ Whenever you feel hungry, take a person and eat him in front of the village.” Then the being went away. The people in the village always heard a terrible whistle on the tree behind the village, and everybody noticed that before he came down he shouted twice, and then he would fly down and kill some one in front of the village, and everybody was afraid of him. His 852 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 fame spread all over the different villages, and all the Cannibals gath- ered and tried to kill him. All these companies of dancers gathered in one house; and they prepared a mixture of poisonous herbs, urine, and other bad things, and they began to sing. While they were singing, they heard a cry from the tree. Then they heard a noise on the roof of the house in which they were. He was coming right down into the house where they were assembled, and caught a person in the house. Then they threw the mixture over him and caught him. They were pouring the mixture into his mouth, and they made a heavy ring of red-cedar bark mixed with white for him, and they gave him a large grizzly- bear skin to be his garment, and they put a red band of red-cedar bark on each leg, and rings of red-cedar bark on each hand; and everybody was glad because they had tied him hand and foot. While he was sleeping, a terrible whistling was heard in his hair, although there was nobody with him. They watched over him for four nights. Then they did not give him any more medicine, and they all went to sleep. Now the great Cannibal threw off all his cedar-bark ties around his neck, and the large grizzly-bear skin, and the cedar-bark bands that were on his feet and on his hands. Then he shouted and caught one of the men who was holding his foot- bands of red-cedar bark, and he ate him right there. Then he flew up to his house on the tree, and the noise of the whistles struck terror to those in the houses. He came down twice every day to catch people, and he ate them, and he went everywhere to devour people. Then the chief said, ‘Let all the people of the village move tomor- row!” On the following morning they moved, leaving the young man behind; and he flew to every place, caught people, and devoured them. Once he flew away, and alighted on a very high mountain on Nass River. Then he ran down, and saw a fish lying on a sandbar at low water. He started a little fire at the foot of a large tree, gathered some fuel, and roasted the fish by the fire. Then a super- natural being came to him, and asked him, ‘What are you doing here?’”’ He replied, “TI am roasting fish.” The supernatural being said, “This fish is not fit for you to eat. Are you not ashamed of yourself? Is that the way of dancers? Fly away to yonder place on the large tree!”” Then he flew back to his own place. He continued to eat live people as well as the bodies of the dead, and all the villages were in great distress on account of him. They held a council in order to determine how to catch him. They made a large trap of wood; and in the night, after they had finished the trap, the companies of dancers assembled. They sang and beat time on their wooden drums, and beat with sticks on planks. He came boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 853 down from the roof right into the house, and the trap shut and he was caught there. Then they all went to him, caught him, and threw the medicine over him, and they invited all the companies of their village and all the various companies assembled at the appointed time. They brought slaves to feed the dancers; and as they all came there, the dancer came forth and they gave slaves to him. He ate them all. Now his stomach was full of the flesh of many slaves, and he was satisfied. Then they put a large grizzly-bear skin on him, and a large ring of red-cedar bark on his neck and one on his head, and red-cedar bark rings on his hands and on his feet; and at the end of four days, in the morning, they beat a wooden drum and beat their sticks on the planks with thundering noise to drive away his supernatural power; and he went out alone, walking down to the beach; and at low water he sat down on a large round rock, his face toward the village, and everybody came out to see him. Then the tide rose, and the rock on which he was seated was floating on the water; and when the tide went out, the rock grounded at the same place where it had been before. | When the sun set, he walked up to the house where all the people were assembled. As soon as he came in, they allranuptohim. They took a heavy pole, threw him on the ground, and put his neck under the pole, trying to kill him; but the supernatural power came and helped him and delivered him from their hands. He escaped, and he would always come down to the village; but he did not take so many people as he had done before. He just killed some one, but did not eat him. Many years passed, and he still lived on the tree. After two generations had passed, his voice ceased. That is the end. 63. ORIGIN OF THE CANNIBALS ! Once upon a time there was a mountain-goat hunter. While he was hunting he met a white bear, which he pursued. Finally he came near enough to shoot, and he hit it. The bear, however, ran on, and finally disappeared in a steep rock. After a short time a man came out of the mountain, approached the hunter, and called him in. He followed, and found that there was a large house in the mountain. The person who had called him asked him to sit down on the right- hand side of the house. Then the hunter saw four companies of people in the house, and saw what they were doing. In one corner were the Mé’°la; in the second corner, the Nd’tem, who ate dogs; in a third corner, the Wi-halai’d, the Cannibals; and in the fourth one, the Sem-halai’d. The first group and the last group were very much afraid of the other two. The hunter staid in the house for three days, as he thought, but in reality he had been away for three years. Then 1 Translated from Boas 1, p. 304.—Notes, p. 863. 50633°— 31 erH—16——23 354 . TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY {ErH. ANN. 31 the supernatural being sent him back, and ordered him to imitate all that he had seen in the mountain. The White Bear took the hunter back to his home, and put him down on the top of a tree. There the people saw him. He slid down the tree on his back, attacked a man, and devoured him. Then he attacked another one, tore him to pieces, and ate him; and thus he killed many people. Finally the tribe succeeded in overpowering him, and they cured him by means of medicine. When he had quite recovered his senses, he taught them the dances of the four companies that he had seen in the mountain, and since that time the people have had the Cannibal dance and the Dog Eaters’ dance. 64. Srory oF THE WoLF Cian! The Wolf Clan originated in Alaska. The Tahltan of the upper Stikine River had a great war. Two chiefs, Gus-xg‘ain and Lagunus, were killed. Then their nephews and six brothers belonging to the Wolf Clan fled from their enemies. Two of them went across the mountains to Nass River, while four went down Stikine River by canoe. : The four brothers who went down the river arrived at a place where a large glacier obstructed the valley, and where the river ran through under the ice. Then they sang a mourning-song and entered the ice cave expecting to be drowned. They passed through safely and went right down the river. Before evening they arrived at the mouth of the river, and saw the smoke of a village. They were afraid that the people might kill them: therefore they camped there, waiting for the night to come. The villagers, however, had watch- men stationed on the river, who had seen the canoe coming down: therefore they sent their warriors in two canoes to fight the four brothers. These, however, spoke kindly to them, and they were invited into the chief’s house. There they told the chief that they were fleeing from their enemies; and when they said that they be- Jonged to the Wolf Clan and gave the names of their uncles, the chief of the Stikine said that he wanted to take that name: there- fore he gave a great feast and took the name Gus-xg’ain. Later on a war broke out among the Stikine people, and some of the Tahltan brothers fled to Tongass, where they settled. After some time had elapsed, another war broke out, and one of them fled to the Tsimshian: therefore there are not many people of the Wolf Clan among the Tsimshian. The two brothers who had crossed the mountains to Nass River found the people encamped above Portland Canal. The chief of the 1This story of the origin of the Wolf Clan was obtained after all the preceding matter was in type. It belongs to the group of stories 51-53 (pp. 297 et seg.). It is the last story written by Mr. Tate before his death.—Notes, p. 863, Ad et abanenet BoAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 355 Nass tribe took them into his house and asked them where they came from and where they were going. The two brothers told him that they had fled because their two uncles had been slain. They told him, furthermore, that they belonged to the Wolf Clan. Then the Nass chief claimed them as his relatives. He made a great feast and took the name Gus-xg‘ain. He took the two young men to be his nephews. SUPPLEMENT: THREE War TALES (1) FIGHTS BETWEEN THE G'‘I-SPA-X-LA’°TS AND THE G‘IT-DzI'°s In the great tales of the olden times some very sad things occurred, and some that were funny. There were two tribes—the G‘i-spa-x-l4’°ts and the G-it-dzi’°s—and these tribes were very expert warriors. In olden times it was custom- ary for a great chief to take a princess from each tribe to be his wife. Some had as many as sixteen or eighteen wives. So it was with Chief Dzéba’sa. He had many wives. His first wife’s name was Gan-dE-ma’xlI, a princess of the G'i-spa-x-l4/°ts; and his second wife was called Ndzé°dz-yu-wa-xsa/ntk. She was a Giit- dzi’°s princess. He had many other wives besides these, but the names of these two great women were perpetuated through all gener- ations. Gan-dE-ma’xt! was seated at the right-hand side of Dzéba’sa; and the other one, Ndzé°dz-yu-wa-xsa’/ntk, was seated at his left-hand side; and many women were at the side of Gan-dE-ma’x}; and so it was with the other princess, Ndzé°dz-yt-wa-xsa/ntk. The first wife of Chief Dzéba’sa had three children. Her eldest son’s name was Hats !eks-n!é’°x; the second son’s name was Xbi-yélk; and her daughters’ names were Nés-pdi’°ks, Wi-n!é’°x, Lu-xsmaks. The eldest son of Dzéba’sa’s second wife was Gaind; her second son was Gagayam n!é’°x; her third son, Gauga’°l; and her youngest son, Wi-gwina’°t; and they had one daughter, whose names were Belham n!é’°x (Abalone Fin), Wa-naga, and Dzi’ek. When these children were grown up to be men and women, the old chief Nés-balas of the G‘i-spa-x-la’/°ts died; and the elder son of Dzéba’sa’s first wife, Gan-dg-ma’xI, succeeded his great old grand- father, whose name was Nés-balas. Before he became the new chief of the Gi-spa-x-l’°ts, his father made him great among his fellow- chiefs as well as among all his brothers and sisters of his house. Therefore all the tribes of the Tsimshian honored him, and his name was famous all along the coast. Then when his own tribe took him, they held all kinds of dances and gave many feasts every year. He was greatly honored by the Tsimshian. He had many costly coppers, many slaves, and many large canoes from different tribes, expensive garments, dance-garments, garments made of sea otter, black fox, 356 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [pTH. ANN. 31 marten, and wolverene; and his wife had many kinds of provisions. His own brother, Xbr-yé’lk, still loved him. The eldest son of Dzéba’sa’s second wife succeeded to his uncle’s name, Txa-dzi/°kik; and before he went to his own tribe his father the great chief made dances in his honor, but two less than for his eldest son, because the great chief said that he was his second son. Therefore the young man was angry with his father; so he left his father and went to his own tribe, who gladly received him. He invited his own brave men to his house, and he said to them, ‘‘T want to let you know what is in my mind. [ will slay Nés-balas because he is highly honored by all the Tsimshian tribes; and my father the great chief also honors and loves him most. He called me his second son.” Then all the people were silent; and one of the wise men said, ‘‘No, if you slay him, then all the tribes will be against us, and our tribe will be destroyed in war,” and all the brave men said the same. Nevertheless this young man was not friendly to his brother. There- fore he made a great feast, to which he invited all the Tsimshian tribes; and he said to all his guests that he would be the first to be called at every chief’s great feast; and he gave away many costly coppers, slaves, canoes, elk skins, and all kinds of property. After he had given this great feast in midwinter, his great father made a greater feast, and invited all the tribes, also the neighbors of the Tsimshian; and he gave away much property, expensive coppers, large canoes, slaves, elk skins, a great number of oil-boxes, pairs of abalone ear-ornaments, and a great many horn spoons; and the great chief announced that his name should be the first to be called in the chief’s feasts; and he took one of his expensive coppers, and some one lifted Nés-balas, and they took the copper from him and placed it before him. Then his younger brother, Chief Txa-dzi’°¢kik, ran out during the feast, where all the chiefs of the Tsimshian and of the other tribes were assembled. These were the Git!ama’t, Git-l4’°p, and the Bellabella tribes and others. When they had all received their presents from the great chief Dzéba’sa, every chief of the tribe was glad to have his valuable presents. Only one chief, Txa-dzi’°kik, had run out full of wrath. His people took his canoe, and they went back to his own house. Now they were ready to fight with his elder brother. Therefore, when all the tribes were returning to their own homes, Txa-dzi’°kik sent his two canoes full of warriors, and lay in wait at a little bay on the way; and while the other canoes were passing by, these two large canoes lay hiding in the little bay. After all the other canoes had passed, and they had waited for a long time, at last two large canoes loaded with all kinds of property came along slowly. The people were SS SS se BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 357 singing as they were coming along. At that time a chief would always be ready to put on his armor. The chief was seated on a box in the center of his large canoe, and he was looking all around; and as soon as he saw the two canoes coming toward them, Nés-balas took up his bow and arrow.. When he saw his brother standing in one of the large canoes, he asked him, ‘‘What do you mean that you are coming against me?’’ Txa-dzi/°kik answered, ‘‘I come against you in order to kill you right here.’””—‘‘ For what reason ?”’—‘‘ Because my father has honored you more than me, therefore I will slay you.’ As he was saying this, Nés-balas shot his arrow, and the arrow entered Txa-dzi’°kik’s left eye, so that he fell back in his canoe; and all Nés-balas’s warriors did their best shooting the warriors of Txa- dzi’lak. The people in one of the latter’s large canoes were all lulled, and many of his men were wounded. One of Nés-balas’s first wives was killed. Txa-dzi’°kik’s men fled. This was the beginning of the war between these two brothers, the sons of one man. One year after the fight, on their way home, Txa-dzi/lak died, and his younger brother, Gaina, succeeded him and took his name. He invited all the chiefs of all the tribes, and he made a great feast in order to make himself great; but the Tsimshian chiefs would not come to his great feast because he had not invited Nés-balas first. Therefore all the Tsimshian chiefs were not present at this great feast. This made him even more sad; for the chiefs of all the Tsimshian tribes loved Nés-balas more than him, because Nés-balas used to give great feasts and was very kind to all his fellow-chiefs and to every- body. Therefore they loved him. They said that he was a real prince because he loved the poor and honored his fellow-chiefs. Every day some of the hunters of the Tsimshian tribes would bring him fresh meat, and in return the chief gave them valuable garments. He was also often invited by the chiefs of the various tribes. There- fore he was much favored in the eyes of all the people. One day a canoe arrived in front of Nés-balas’s village with a message from Txa-dzi’°kik, who invited Nés-balas. The latter sent out one of his warriors to say that he would not go to their master’s feast unless he would send to every Tsimshian tribe and strew feathers on every chief’s head. Therefore Txa-dzi/°kik’s men went and told their master what Chief Nés-balas had said. They went back and told him what his elder brother had said. Then Txa- dzi’°kik said that he would kill him. So they set out secretly at night to ambush him. At midnight they arrived at the village. The same night hunters who had been out in two canoes were in Nés-balas’s house; and late at night, while those who were waiting to lull the chief were at the foot of the ladder leading up to the chief’s 358 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN, 31 house, the hunters caught them. They took hold of the young man, Chief Txa-dzi/°lkik. They asked the new chief what he was doing there, and he told them that he intended to slay the great Nés-balas. Therefore they took him into the house of their chief, and they told Nés-balas what he had said. Then the’great chief told them to take the men outside and to bring in their heads. The hunters obeyed. They slew them outside and brought in their heads. Then they put each body on a pole, and hung their heads in the smoke hole. They took their canoe and put it up stern downward. Then all the tribes learned that the men who sought the life of the great chief Nés-balas had been killed, and war broke out between them. The G‘i-spa-x-l4/°ts killed the three brothers, Gagayam n!é’°x, Gaina’, and Gauga’°t. Only one boy remained alive. His name was Wi-gwina’*t. At this time the great chief Dzéba’sa had died in his old age, and Gan-de-ma’xt also died, and Dzéba’sa’s nephew succeeded to his place. Nés-balas’s sister took her mother’s name, Gan-dE-ma’xl, and the youngest brother of the three princes that were slain suc- ceeded Txa-dzi’lak. Then Chief Nés-balas made a great feast for the chiefs of all the Tsimshian tribes, and announced that his sister would take her mother’s name. She was a great dancer, and had a new song. These are the words of her song: Good weather is following a hard frost, heavy rains and storms. This meant that they would not have any more fighting between the brothers; and they invited all the noble women; and the mother of the three brothers who had been killed was present at the feast. She heard the words of the song, and took a little comfort because she knew now that her last son would not be slain. After some time the young chief went with four companions in his canoe to hunt ducks around the Island of Metlakahtla. This young man was Txa-dzi/°kik. He intended to kill Nés-balas; but he could not do it, because Nés-balas had many friends who watched over him and protected him. The boy’s heart was not right toward him. After a while Nés-balas became sick, and it was not many days before he died. Then all the Tsimshian tribes lamented, but the tribe of Txa-dzi’°kik was happy. Their young chief invited the young men to have a game in his house every night, and they had a good time, shouting and laughing because the great chief Nés-balas had died. Many days had passed after the mourning of the tribes. The younger brother of Nés-balas, Xbi-yé’Ik, succeeded to his place. He also took the name Nés-balas, gave a great feast, and invited all the chiefs of every tribe. Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 359 Before all the chiefs had come to his feast, some one told the new chief Nés-balas that Txa-dzi/°kik’s tribe were making merry in his house, and that they were full of joy every night, and that they mocked the great chief Nés-balas; and all the wise men of Nés-balas assembled, and decided to kill the young chief while they were feasting. Others, however, said that they would kill him after the feast, in order to avoid an uproar if this should be done while all the people were assembled at the feast. Therefore they waited until the feast was over. The new chief Nés-balas was kind, like his elder brother, and soon all the chiefs were very friendly toward him. The day after the feast, when all the chiefs had gone home, a large canoe was seen passing through the Straits of Metlakahtla. The people in the canoe were singing, and stopped in front of Nés-balas’s village in order to invite him to Txa-dzi/lak’s house. Then the whole tribe of the Gri-spa-x-la/°ts went. Txa-dzi’°kik mocked the new chief when he was coming to the feast. After this feast to Nés-balas and his people, the chief Gul-qa’q of the Grit!and4’ invited Txa-dzi/°lkik and also Nés-balas to his house. Nés-balas came as soon as he could, and they waited a long while. Then Nés-balas said to his nephew, ‘‘I will go home,” and they went out just when Txa-dzi/lak’s canoe was coming. Nés-balas’s people were going back, and they met near Ghost Island (Lax-ha-l!i- t!a’ beba/lx); and Txa-dzi’°kik’s men said to Nés-balas, ‘‘Did you come against us, you coward chief?” and not a word was said by Nés-balas’s men. They went away laughing. Then Nés-balas’s warriors took six canoes and went back the same night to lie in wait for Txa-dzi’°kik near Ghost Island. When it was nearly mid- night and the moon was shining, a canoe-song was heard proceeding from the village of Gulqa’q, and some words in their song were ‘coward chief;”’ and as they passed the place where the G'i-spa-x-l4’°ts were waiting, Chief Txa-dzi/°lik being seated on a large box in his canoe, one of Nés-balas’s warriors shot him through the temple, and he fell back into the water. Then the six canoes pursued them on the way back to their home. Nés-balas’s men cut off the head of Txa- dzi’°kik, and they hung his body on a tree. On the following morning a great number of canoes of Txa-dzi/°kik’s tribe came to make war, because their master’s head was in Nés-balas’s house; and there was a great battle on that day between the tribes of these two brothers, and Txa-dzi’°kik’s people were driven to flight that day. There was a great slaughter of Txa-dzi’/°¢kik’s men. Txa-dzi’°kik’s old mother was weeping, walking along the street; and she said, ‘‘My son, my only son left to me, made a mistake, for they said in their song that good weather would follow the dark 360 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 storm-clouds;”’ and as she was weeping bitterly, she died of a broken heart, because her three sons had been slain, and her last son’s head was in the house of Nés-balas. Many years passed, and the two chiefs still hated each other. Many chiefs who had these two names did the same; but I do not want to talk toolong. Iwill makeitshort. Now, this will be the last dreadful war. The new Dzéba’sa had five sons and three daughters. The eldest son was Hats!ks-n!é’°x; the second, Wowd/lk; the third, Belha’; the fourth, Xbi-yé’lk; the fifth, Hais. The girls’ names were as follows: the eldest was Maxs; the second, Win!é’°x; the third, Pda’Imm ha’yétsk. These princes and princesses were honored by all the tribes of the Tsimshian. There were other princes and a princess, the children of Chief Sacks! and of his wife Ndzé°dz-ha’utk, the sister of Ndzé°dz-yu-wa- xsa/ntk. She had three sons and one daughter. ‘The name of her eldest son was Haimas; the second, Wi-ha’°; the third, Wi-gwina’°t; and the name of her daughter was Dzagam-txa-n!é’°x. They were of the same rank as Dzéba’sa’s children, and Hats!eks-n!é/°x suc- ceeded to Nés-balas; and Haimas succeeded Txa-dzi’°kik, but he did not take his name, because his head was in the house of another clan. Therefore his father gave him the name Haimas. He assembled all the members of the Raven Clan from all the Tsimshian tribes while his father the great chief Sa’°ks was still alive, and they settled on the island Lax-gaya’un, and they gave the name Wuts!ena’luk to the new village which was given to him by his father. There are many wonderful stories about this chief Haimas, but I will make it short. All the people of Wuts!sn-a’luk were very brave—men, women, and children—for their chiefs were very brave men; so they taught their people to be brave, as they themselves were. So it was with Nés-balas and all his brothers. His people were also brave, and they continued to hate one another. Haimas tried to beat Nés-balas in every way and to be above him; but he could not succeed, because Nés-balas was very kind to all the Tsim- shian tribes, and theyloved him much. Nés-balas had manyslayves,— men, women, and children,—costly coppers, and elk skins, and all kinds of expensive garments. He had many wives. He had also many brave warriors. Haimas was married to a young woman, the elder daughter of Nés-y!aga-né’t, the niece of Nés-balas; and the elder daughter of Maxs, the sister of Nés-balas. Haimas loved this princess, his wife, very much, but he continued to hate his wife’s uncle. Haimas had many slaves,—men, women, and children,—expensive.coppers, large 1A Gispawadwe’da. ee ee ila alle Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS : 361 canoes, and many expensive garments, and also expensive things. He had many large boxes full of war-knives with handles inlaid with abalone shell and handles carved with crests; and he always went to the Tlingit country to make war, and he took many captives and destroyed a great amount of property of different tribes all around the Tsim- shians. His fame was spread all over the country round about; and his heart was proud, because he always vanquished all his enemies. Yet he clung to his purpose to take revenge on the enemy of his dead relatives. One time, when the people were ready to move to Nass River, Nés-balas moved first, according to their old custom. He had two large canoes loaded with all kinds of provisions, and many men slaves. The great chief took a good-sized canoe. Four warriors accompanied him, and six slaves paddled. They camped at a cer- tain camping-ground, and built a special house for the chief’s camp. They put up his large beam which they carried in the large canoe, put boards against it, and covered them with red-cedar bark. After the house was finished, he invited the chiefs, and they came to his camp. Haimas and all the people camped a little behind Nés-balas’s camp; and the latter sent a message to him to invite him and all his people. They came as soon as possible; and when they were all in, Haimas looked around, and noticed how large the beam of Nés-balas’s camp was, and he was envious when he saw it. After this they went up to Nass River. Haimas’s canoe was faster than Nés-balas’s canoe, and he camped first at K-numa’s. His men put up his camping-hut; and when Nés-balas arrived, Haimas sent his men to invite him as well as all the other tribes. Nés-balas looked around in Haimas’s house, and he saw that the beam was thicker than his own beam. After Haimas had danced his welcome dance, the food was served; and Nés-balas’s slaves built their mas- ter’s camping-hut, and Nés-balas’s beam was longer than Haimas’s, On the following morning Haimas moved, for he was ashamed because his beam was shorter than Nés-balas’s beam. Nés-balas moved on the same day. His men took down the long beam and put it on top of the load in the canoe. Haimas took down his beam and put it on top of the load in his large canoe; and as soon as they started out to sea, the heavy timber rolled down on one side of the canoe, and the canoe capsized, and Chief Haimas’s wives were almost drowned. Then Haimas was much ashamed because Nés-balas had seen how his canoe was capsized by his own beam. Nés-balas next camped at K-wims. There he had his men cut down a thick tall young spruce tree to build his camping-house, They put on the boards and the bark roof, and on the following morning he moved. He left his new green spruce beam. -Soon Chief Haimas arrived at the same place. They took his boards up 3862 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [wrH. ANN, 31 first and tried to put them across the place, but they were entirely too short. Then he thought that he would kill Nés-balas during the fishing- season; and when all the people had arrived at Nass River, and while during the fishing-season they were using their fish rakes to catch fish, Haimas’s sister, Dzagam-txa-n!é’°x, was very ill. She was a beautiful woman, and one of the Tlingit chiefs had married her. She had left him because he had many wives, and they had bewitched her. Therefore her digestion was disturbed. Therefore Haimas put her alone in one place. In the night four men who had been out in a canoe came secretly and looked through a knot-hole; and they saw that Dzagam-txa-n!é@’°x’s bowels were disturbed, and the young men were laughing. They went away secretly in their canoe, went among those who were raking in fish; and while they were there one of them said, ‘‘Oh, Dzagam-txa-n!é’°x’s bowels are disturbed!” So all those who were raking fish shouted, Oh: Dzagam-txa-n!é’°x’s bowels are disturbed!” Then the proud chief was very much ashamed. He wanted to find out who had started to mock his sister, Dzagam-txa-n!é’°x. They said that Nés-balas’s people had done so. Therefore he invited his whole tribe—men, women, and children. He made a very large fire; and he said to his attendants, ‘‘Dress my sister nicely. Take my best dancing-blanket and my costly headdress set with abalone shells!”’ and all his attendants did what he had said. Then he said, ‘‘Now take one of my good wide boards and let her sit on it!’ and his attendants did as he had asked them to do. They took the plank on which the princess was sitting, and burned her alive in the large fire. Then he said, ‘‘Nobody shall weep for her.’’ And when the princess was consumed, he spat into the fire, and said, ‘‘As I destroyed my poor sister, thus I will destroy Nés-balas and all his warriors and all his brothers.’’ Then all his people agreed. On the following day they dug a long wide deep ditch inside the door of his house, right across it; and when they had finished the ditch, they sent a messenger to Nés-balas and to his warriors and all the princes. Before it was dark, in the evening, Nés-balas came with all his people and his brothers and the princes of his tribe. They arrived in front of Haimas’s large square house; and before they came ashore, the people of Wuts!En-a’luk went forth and had a dance on the seashore. Each of the warriors of the Wuts!n-a’luk had a war- knife in his right hand. After they had danced a while, they called them ashore; and the brother-in-law of Nés-wa-m4’k, the second chief of the G'i-spa-x-l4’°ts, came down and called this man to his own house, in order to protect him against harm. The people in the house were singing, beating drums, blowing whistles, and there was an uproar in the chief’s house. Two grizzly- Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 363 bear skins were hung up at the door—one outside, and the other one inside. Two of Haimas’s warriors stood outside of the door, and two others inside. The two men outside would lift the grizzly-bear skin, and those who stood inside had each a war-club in his hand; and when the great chief Nés-balas came in first, these two men who lifted the grizzly-bear skin outside shouted, ‘‘Now the great chief goes in!”’ Then, as he went in, they dropped the grizzly-bear skin behind him, and those who stood inside lifted the other skin which was hung up inside; and as the great chief’s head passed through the door, they clubbed him, killed him, and threw his body into the deep ditch which they had prepared. This was done to all the princes and warriors; and when the ditch was full of dead bodies of Nés-balas and his princes and his warriors, the last man, whose name was Gik, heard groans through the uproar that was in the house. He ran away, and arrived among Gul-qa’q’s remaining people. They took their canoe and went to Nés-balas’s people to bring the news. He said that he had come from Haimas’s feast, that he had shut the door of his feasting-house, and that he had destroyed all the chief’s princes and warriors. He said, ‘‘I am the only one who has escaped.” Therefore all the tribes assembled—the G-i-spa-x-la/°ts, Grit !and4’, Grid-wul-ksr-ba’®, and the G-i-lu-dza’r. And they went against the Wuts!en-a’/luk, and there was a great battle on that day; but the people from up the river fled before the tribe of Wuts!n-a’luk, because no warrior was left among them, and they had no chief to command them in battle. Few of the Wuts!mn-a’luk were killed, but many of the people from up river were slain, and many were wounded. The battle raged for many days. Then all the people of the G-i-spa-x-l4’°ts were In mourning because they had no chief, only Nés-wa-ma’k. Nobody would go to him, because he had not rescued any of Nés-balas’s family. Therefore the Gi-spa-x-l4/°ts would not go to him. Three days after the battle Chief Haimas came with four large canoes loaded with his warriors. They stopped in front of Nés-balas’s fishing-camp, singing in their canoes, and happy because they had gained a great victory over their enemies. Therefore they mocked them; and as they arrived in front of Nés-balas’s camp, they stopped there; and one of Haimas’s men said, ‘‘Who will come to my great chief, Chief Haimas, for he has won a great victory over his ances- tors’ enemy? Who will stand up against him? All the tribes that made war against him are his slaves and in his power.” Then one of Nés-balas’s nephews, the eldest son of Wi-n!é’°x, the chief wife of the new Dzéba’sa, the boy named Hats !eks-n!é’°x, who was about ten years of age, was lifted up by one of Nés-balas’s war- riors, and said, ‘‘I shall stand up against Haimas. Don’t speak proudly before me!”? Then Haimas laughed at the little boy, and his 364 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 men took ten of the late Nés-balas’s people who were captured in the battle a few days before, and cut off their heads right before the ene- mies’ eyes. Thenthey threw theminto the water. Therefore Haimas’s people were sHouting; and Haimas took one of his costly coppers and threw it on the water, shouting, ‘‘Now, child, come, and let us throw away valuable coppers!”’ Then all the Tsimshian tribes assembled at this place to see who would win. Therefore the remaining G-i-spa-x-l4/°ts shouted, and one strong man represented the young prince. He took down a very large expensive copper and threw it down on the beach, and said, “Tt costs four small Tlingit coppers.’”’ Then the people in the canoe shouted, and Haimas took a copper much larger than that of Prince Hats !pks-n!é’°x. He threw it on the water, and said, ‘‘This copper is larger than yours;”’ and while the G-i-spa-x-l4/°ts were waiting a while, all the Tsimshians were shouting and laughing and clapping their hands, and they said, ‘‘Haimas’s valuable copper is swimming on the water! Behold, that wooden copper is floating on the water! Then the young prince threw away another valuable copper, and said, “It is worth many mountains full of wooden coppers.” He said this in order to mock the great chief Haimas. Then all the Tsim- shian were glad to see that Prince Hats !rks-n!é’°x had beaten Haimas. The value of two great coppers were not paid back by the Wuts!rn- a/luk to the G-i-spa-x-la’°ts until this day. Therefore the chiefs of all the Tsimshian tribes encouraged the Gri-spa-x-l4/°ts. Now, Haimas was wandering about in the country to hide some- where, because he was afraid of his enemies, and because he was ashamed that his wooden copper that was like a copper was floating on the water in front of the G-i-spa-x-l4/°ts’s camp on Nass River. The whole tribe of Wuts!en-a’luk went with their proud master. In the following winter the G*i-spa-x-l4’°ts gathered together all the princes and princesses of the family of Nés-balas—three boys and two girls, the children of the great chief Dzéba’sa; and two boys, the chil- dren of Nés-16’°s, the great chief of the Gidzexta’°t tribe; and also two eirls. Other princes were the children of the great chief GAdunaha’? of Tongass, three boys, and three girls, very beautiful princesses; and six boys and three girls, the children of the great chief Nés-y!aga-né’t, the uncle of Chief Haimas. This was the father of Nés-balas’s niece, the wife of Chief Haimas; and many others were the children of several chiefs from all the tribes. In that winter, while the G'i-spa-x-l4/°ts gave a great feast to all the tribes, they took all their princes and princesses and gave them all the princes’ and princesses’ names. The eldest son of Dzéba’sa, Hats !eks-n!é’°x, succeeded Nés-balas, and the fathers of these princes and princesses helped in the great feast given in honor of their children. This feast ended after fourteen days. Many cop- BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 365 pers were given away, many slaves, and many large canoes, and all kinds of valuable things. After this feast the great chief Dzéba’sa gave a great feast for his son Nés-balas, and so did the fathers of all the other princes and princesses. Then all the Tsimshian tribes were glad because the Gi-spa-x-l4/°ts had new chiefs. Many years had passed by. Haimas had not come back once. Since he had slain all the chiefs of the Gi-spa-x-l4/°ts in his house, he had never shown himself among the Tsimshian chiefs, and no chief remembered him in any feast. Now, after many years had passed, before the people were moving to Nass River, Haimas made a village at the mouth of Nass River, at G‘in-g6’/li, to prevent the Tsimshian from going up Nass River to fish; and the Tsimshian, therefore, did not move to Nass River. The new chief Nés-balas invited all the tribes to make war against the Wuts!En-a’luk on Nass River. All the chiefs agreed to do so. The Grit-dzi’°s moved, and the G-it-qxa’la, and they camped at K-quma’wut; and the G-it-dzi’°s went right on and camped at K-Igu-sgan-ma‘lks. This was above Haimas’s new village. On the following day one of Haimas’s brothers-in-law, a Grit-qxa’ta prince named Watk, went across to G-in-g6’li to visit his sister, one of the great chief Haimas’s wives. Six young men accompanied him; and when he arrived at G'in-gd/li, at Haimas’s village, they were invited in. So they wentin. — These men were very much afraid. They were asked to sit down on a wide thick board. Watk had his small dagger hanging around his neck; and Haimas pointed at the small dagger that was hanging around his brother-in-law’s neck, and he said to one of the men, “Let me have a look at my brother-in-law’s dagger!’ Then his brother-in-law took off the small dagger from his neck and handed it to the young man, who gave it to Haimas. The great chief took it, and said, ‘‘Oh, my brother-in-law is a warrior!—Are you going to kill any one with this dagger?’ The chief was laughing when he saw the dagger, and he said to one of his warriors, calling him by name, ‘‘Take this dagger and throw it into the fire!’’ So his attendant threw the small dagger into the fire. He said, ‘‘T will give daggers to my brother-in-law and his men;’’ and he called one of his first war- riors by name, and said, ‘‘Come and show me your dagger!”’ and he who was called came to him. He gave him his war-knife, saying, “‘This is it, sir!’”” The chief replied, ‘‘No; that is not the one. Let the warriors show me their knives.”” So these men lifted up their daggers, and the chief looked at them. He said also, ‘‘Go and see if you can find any in that box!”’ They opened the box, and showed that it was full of daggers; and he said, ‘‘Open another box!” They opened it, and showed him every dagger. The great chief Haimas 366 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 had ten boxes full of daggers. They took out ten from the last box they had opened, and placed them in front of Haimas. The chief took one of them by the handle and threw it at his brother-in-law, who was sitting in front of the large fire. He threw them one by one, and the dagger-points entered the edge of the board on which his brother- in-law was sitting. The great chief said, ‘‘Bring me six more dag- gers!’’ They did so; and he took one and threw it at the first man, and hit the board close to his toes. Then he did the same to the other men. After this they served the food. Thus he showed his brother-in-law how many daggers he had, and how many bundles of spears, which stood in the corners of his large square house. On the other side of his house were piles of boxes of arrows and spears, and many boxes of war-clubs, stone and bone clubs, and some boxes of stoné tomahawks, and boxes with sling-stones, and all kinds of armor and helmets. After he had shown these to his brother-in-law, he sent him away. On the following day they told him that his uncle, Nés-y!aga-né’t, was camped above his village, with all his people. The great chief Haimas said, ‘‘Bring them down here, for I long to see him.’ So the Wuts !en-a’luk took a large canoe, anda numberof young men went up to bring down the old chief, Nés-y!aga-né’t, and all his property, and his people, to Haimas’s village. After this the Wuts!mn-a/luk built a house for Nés-y!aga-né’t; and Haimas invited him to come to his house, together with some of his warriors. When they came, Haimas danced the welcome dance for his uncle, who was his father- in-law. They served food for the guests. While they were eating, Haimas asked his uncle to tell him what all the Tsimshian had been doing during his long absence. He asked, ‘Has there been any chief among the Gi-spa-x-li°ts since I killed their chief years ago?’’ His uncle replied, ‘‘Ha, ha! what kind of a question is that? Youshould see the new chiefs of the G'i-spa-x-la/°ts. They are as numerous as gambling-sticks. Those whom you slew years ago are not as good as the new chiefs.” Then Haimas hung his head; and after a while he inquired, ‘‘Who is the chief who is first called in the feasts?’’ His uncle replied, ‘‘They honor me.’’—‘‘And do any of the chiefs remember me ?”’— ““No, nobody remembers you at all.’—‘And how about Chief Dzéba’sa, does he remember me when he gives feasts ?’””—‘‘ No,” replied his uncle. ‘‘What song does he sing ?””—‘‘ His song is, ‘I will make thee the highest one,’’’ replied his uncle. ‘‘Oh!”’ said Chief Haimas, ‘‘that means that I am your slave.”—‘‘No,” said Nés- y !aga-né’t, ‘‘he says, ‘I make thee the highest one.’’’ Then Haimas asked, ‘“And what is his next song ?’’—‘‘ His next song is, ‘Ah, great Firewood!’ ”’ BoAs] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 367 Then Haimas said, ‘‘Now, stop at once! They use my name in their song.”’ Nés-y!aga-né’t replied, ‘‘No, that is not so.’ Now Haimas was very angry, and he did not say a word. After they had eaten, Nés-y!aga-né’t went out supported on each side on the shoulders of a slave; and as they were leading the old chief down the beach, Haimas sent down one of his attendants, and ordered him to lull Nés-y!laga-né’t. Then one of his attendants went down and killed him. He struck him on his woven hat, saying, ““Now, sir, lie down!”’ and the old chief fell down on the beach. Haimas was looking out of the house, and it seemed to him as though his uncle was not dead yet. Therefore he shouted to his officer, and said, ‘‘He is not dead! Strike him once more!” His attendant said, ‘‘I will do so, he is not my uncle;” and he struck him twice, until he lay there dead. As he was lying there, Haimas ran down, took a valuable copper, and shouted, ‘“‘Alas, my uncle!”’ He lifted up the head of the dead man, and put the copper under it. Then Haimas and all his warriors went to take his uncle’s Raven headdress; but before they entered, one of Nés-y!aga-né’t’s warriors’ wives, whose name was Qtsi°l, had taken the headdress and put it into an old fish basket, which she had put down at the door. Then all the men of the Wuts!en-a/luk opened Nés-y !aga-né’t’s boxes, searching for his headdress, but they could not find it. The Giit-dzi’°s moved up Nass River, taking along the body of their chief; and Chief Haimas also moved up Nass River with his own people. Four days after he had arrived at his camping-ground where he had killed Nés-balas and his warriors, all the Tsimshian went up to their camping-ground. The G'i-spa-x-li’°ts also went to their camping-ground on the other side of the river. As soon as all the tribes were there, Haimas sent his messengers. They launched two large canoes, and they were singing in the canoes. The words of their song were as follows: Tam cutting the heads of my enemies in front of the mocking child-chief! When the two canoes arrived in front of the camp of the new chiefs, they stopped for a while, and one of the new chief’s warriors said, “What does this mean? Are you coming again to destroy us?”” One of Haimas’s warriors replied, ‘‘Yes; I will put the body of ycur new chief among the decayed fish, as we did your former proud chief and all his men.’”’ Then one of the G-i-spa-x-la’°ts replied, ‘‘Tomorrow I shall come to destroy you, your brothers, and your people.” One of Haimas’s men replied, ‘‘Do come! We are ready with another ditch to throw in the body of your new chief, as we did with your former chief.” 868 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 Now, Haimas’s wife, the daughter of Nés-ylaga-né’t, went up to her father’s house, to the place were the Git-dzi’°s were encamped. Nés-y!aga-né’t’s warriors advised her to take some excrement and put it on her husband’s pillow, and then to come back again. They said, ‘‘If they come to kill you, we shall slay them to avenge your father.’’ Therefore the woman went down again. She took some excrement and put it on the pillow of her husband, the chief Haimas. Then she went back to her father’s house. Then the chief went into his house and saw the exerement on his pil- low, and he asked all his wives whether they had done it. His wives did not know who had done it. Finally they said that his chief wife, Dicks, had done it. Then he called his two brothers, Wi-ha’° and Gwina’°t, and asked them to go to the camp of the G-it-dzi’°s, and to bring Dicks back. He said, ‘‘I will give her this excrement to eat.” The two princes went up to the camp of the G-it-dzi’°s, and came to a place where a man was making a new canoe. They stood behind him, and said, ‘‘Your new canoe shall be ours.’”? The man replied, ‘‘Yes; this new canoe that I am making shall be yours, but I will sell it.’ While these princes were talking to the man who was making the canoe, some of Nés-y!aga-né’t’s warriors were ready to slay both of them. One man was sitting on the roof of the chief’s large house, holding along spear; and two others were in hiding on each side of the door, each holding a war-club. Before the two princes went in, they asked Am-dzi’°sk, the man who was making the canoe, ‘‘Is Dicks, the wife of Haimas, in the house ?””—‘Oh, yes!” they replied, ‘‘she is in there. What do you want of her ?’’—‘‘She put some excrement on her husband’s pillow, and we come to take her back by order of our brother the chief.” They went in; and as Wi-ha’° entered and stood in the doorway, he asked, ‘‘Where is Di°ks?”’ The princess was seated in front of her late father’s coffin. She said, ‘‘Here Iam! What do you want?” At that mo- ment the man who was on the roof of the house thrust his spear into Wrha’’s back just between the shoulders, piercing his backbone; and when Wi-gwina’°t saw his elder brother fall, he ran out. The two men at the door tried to kill him with their clubs, but they missed him, and he ran as fast as he could right down the beach and on the ice towards his own village. Haimas was looking towards the camp of the G-it-dzi’°s, and he saw a person being pursued on the ice, and said to one of his men, “Took here! Wiha’? is driving the Gvit-dzi’°s before him on the ice.” At that time the man who was making the canoe took his tomahawk and threw it at Wi-gwina’°t’s feet and struck him in the bend of the knee, so that he fell down on the ice; and all Nés-y!aga- Boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 369 né’t’s warriors came down and thrust their spears into his body. Then they sang as their war-song the mourning-song of their master who had been lulled a few days before. These were the words of the song: As he was walking along to see the body, he brought his own blood on his own head. Then a youth, the son of Chief Haimas, ran home and told his father that Haimas’s two brothers had been killed by the Gvit-dzi’°s. He said, ‘‘The G-it-dzi’°’s killed your brothers to avenge my grand- father, whom you killed a few days ago.’ Then he questioned his father, and asked, ‘‘Is this the great battle today?” His father replied, ‘‘No, not now, my child; but you will see a greater battle than this.” Thus spoke the great-hearted man. Very early the following morning all the people from up the river went to attack them. There was a great number of war-canoes, and they arrived in front of Haimas’s camp. The battle began on the beach, and there was a great battle on that day. The Wuts!En- a’luk fought valiantly, but they were weakening. Now the battle became fiercer, and many of the warriors of the Wuts!en-a/luk were killed. Again the young child asked, ‘‘Father, is this the great battle today ?”’—‘‘Yes,”’ said he. Then the Gi-spa-x-l4’°ts rushed against the Wuts!mn-a’luk, and there was a great battle that day. All the people from up the river went, and they took the village of the Wuts!mn-a/luk house by house. Before they took Haimas’s house, he escaped with a few of his men, three women, and a few children. The G*i-spa-x-la’°ts burned their houses and destroyed their property; and before midnight the shout- ing of the warriors was heard on the mountains near Red Bluff Gulf (Gwagaba’lga dz4’). It was a long shout, ending like the hooting of ° an owl. The war-cry of the Gi-spa-x-li’°ts was like the hooting of an owl. Then the people up the river were glad to have gained the victory over the Wuts!gn-a’luk. Haimas made his escape to the Nass River people, and they saved him. Haimas’s few people went back to the Tsimshian and scattered among all the Tsimshian tribes. The Tsimshian would not allow the Wuts!en-a/luk to have a town of their own again. Therefore Haimas’s people are scattered among all the tribes. Haimas made his home among the Nass River people, together with the three women who escaped with him. They married Nass chiefs. After many years, when Haimas was very old, a new Nés-balas and his people heard that he was making his home on Nass River: therefore they took many canoes and went up to the Nass people. Finally they arrived at the place where Haimas was living. The canoes stopped in front of the village, and they wanted Haimas to 50633°—31 ETH—16——24 370 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 atone for those whom he had slain in his house years ago. Then he made atonement for each of the princes and warriors whom he had killed in his house. Then a Grid-wul-ksr-ba’? man said to Haimas, ‘‘You shall atone also for my brother whom you have slain;’’ and the great old chief Haimas said, ‘‘Is thy brother’s name Wi-ha’? or Wi-gwina’°t? I am not full of fear because I have done this. Come and look into my heart!’’ Thus said the big-hearted man, stretching out his hands; and as he stretched out his hands, he fell back and died. That was the end of his life. There are many things in his life about which I have not written. T have only told about his enmity against Nés-balas and his people. (2) WAR BETWEEN THE TSIMSHIAN AND THE TLINGIT A long time ago, after the Deluge had covered the whole earth, the people increased in numbers. Three or four generations before the white man arrived on this coast there were many wars. The Tlingit gained many victories; and last of all they subdued all the Tsimshian, who fled: before them. The Tlingit pursued them everywhere, wherever they went to hide on the mountains. Therefore all the Tsimshian went up Skeena River, so that the Tlingit could not follow them. Nevertheless they kept watch over them. Then the Tsimshian were safe on Skeena River. They remembered that this river had belonged to their ancestors before the Deluge. Therefore they went there, but they did not go up to the place where their ancestors had lived. One tribe lived at G'its!ala’ser; another one, at G'its!smga’lén; another one, at K-lax-g‘ils River; one at Ksrda’s; one at Ksrm-dzilxs; one at K-xadzuks; one at Kiyaks. One lived on the other side of Skeena River at Ginadé’°xs and K-t!ad and Ksdal. These rivers on both sides of Skeena River belong to all the Tsimshian tribes. Not one tribe remained at the old town of Metlakahtla or anywhere on the seashore. This whole country was taken away by the Tlingit as far as the mouth of Skeena River. At one time war broke out again. There was a great chief of the Eagle Clan, who was married to a princess of the G'ispawadwr’da. They built a strong fort, and named it Beaver Fort. The Eagle Clan assembled there to defend it against their enemies. The fort was built near the mouth of Skeena River, just above K-xadzuks River. When the fort was finished, all the men practiced once a day. These people were the G'id-wul-ga’dz. One time a young man came to them, a relative of the chief’s wife, who loved his sister,’ the only daughter of the chief, very much. It 1 Meaning his mother’s sister’s daughter. It would seem here as though the young man had married a girl of his own clan.—F. B. i BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 371 was not many years before the Tlingit attacked these people, and those who lived in the fortress were ready for them. Then the chief said to the young man, “My son, take my only daughter and flee with her.’ Therefore the young man took her to a place above the creek K-t!ad. As soon as these two young people had left the fort, it was attacked, and there was a great battle. Again the Tlingit were victorious; and not one man escaped, only these two young people who had left before the battle. The Tlingit were stronger than all the other tribes, and they took the Tsimshian villages, fishing-grounds, and hunting- grounds as far as Nass River and Skeena River, although these two rivers belonged to the Tsimshian. The Tlingit made villages on Dundas Island; and whenever they saw smoke ascending on the mainland, they went with many canoes and attacked the people, and all the Tsimshian were in great distress. Many years passed that way. None of the Tsimshian could go up to Nass River, because they were too much afraid of the Tlingit. Now, let us turn to the two young people who had fled from Beaver Fort many years ago. As soon as they arrived at the lake of K-t!ad, the young man married the girl, and they had a good home on the lake. They lived there many years, and had ten children, all boys. Their father taught them how to use their weapons, how to be suc- cessful, and how to keep themselves clean, and how to do things in the right way. Thus the ten young men became healthy and strong. They were very good-looking. When the young men were full-grown, their father moved down to the mouth of K-t!ad Creek, and they camped there. The father was named Aksk; and as they were in camp there, he said to his sons, “Now, children, I want to take revenge on those who burned your grandfathers’ Beaver Fort. Therefore go up and cut down fresh fir trees, and bring all the pitch that you can find, and bring fine dry sand.” Then the young men went and brought what their father had asked for. He made a great heavy gate of the fresh fir wood. He cut the trees the right length, joined and nailed them together. After he had done so, he covered them with pitch and threw the dry sand over it. Then they cut some more fir trees and nailed them over the other ones, and covered the whole with pitch and sand. He gave it four coats. This gate was so heavy that not one of the young men was able to lift it by the corner. Only the four eldest of the young men were able to lift it. One day they launched two canoes and moved down to K-xien, one of their deserted villages. There they built a large square house; and they put around it a stockade of fresh firs, making a double wall. Then they made a floor high up in the house. abana a a ee ne Boas] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 917 Now, Kwa’tiyat® was a very ugly man, and his face was covered with scars. The chief who had been sick told his two daughters to put him into hot water in one corner of his house, to wash him, and make a new man out of him. Then the two sisters called him; and he went to where they stood, alongside of the hot water. As soon as he came to them, they pushed him into it; and very soon the flesh left his bones, for the water was boiling into which he was thrown, and he was cooked. After the flesh was off the bones, they took the bones out of the hot water with a pair of tongs and put them on a new mat. They put the skull down first, and next to that they put the backbone, and next the arms and legs and the small joints belonging to the fingers. All of these were put together. After this was done, they took water of life and sprinkled it on the bones. Then the flesh came on the bones, but there was no life yet. Then they began to press the face of the new Kwa’tiyat’ into a shape they thought would make him look handsome. When they had done so, they sprinkled more water of life on his body, and he came to life again. After the two pretty women had made him as handsome as they wished him to be, the elder daughter married him; and then he staid with the Shark people a long time. One day Kwa’ttyat® was lying on his back, and seemed to be think- ing. Then his father-in-law asked his daughter whether her hus- band wanted to go home; and when she asked her husband if he wanted to go home, he said, ‘‘Yes!”” The old man Shark said, “Tonight you shall go; and now I will dress you up in my chief dress.” Then he went into a secret room; and he came out of it with ear-drops of abalone shell, also nose abalone shells, and a blanket made out of sea-otter skin; and he put them on Kwa’ttyat‘, and he also put a head-ring made of sea-otter skin on his head. ‘And now,”’ said the Shark man to Kwa’tiyat‘, ‘‘now, tonight you shall go home, and you shall also have a house that I will give you as dowry of my two princesses; and you have only to say where the house shall be put by my people:’ for Kwa’tiyat told the Shark people that he was the first chief of the Mowa’tc!ath*® tribe; that is why he was treated in that way. Then, when evening came, Kwa’ttyat* said to his wife that he would like the house to be built on the west corner of the Mowa’tc!lath® village, or at Place Of Wind, and she told her father about it. In the night Kwa/ttyat® went to bed with his two wives, and in the morning he heard many people making a loud noise. They said, “Here is a large, strange house! It must belong to a great chief, for see the painting on the front ! and the door also is the mouth of a monster fish!” Kwa/ttyat‘ did not know how the front of his house looked, for he had never seen it before. 918 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ELH. ANN. 31 Then some of the people said, ‘‘Let us go and ask our chief, Wood- pecker, to send his speakers to invite the chief that owns this house, whoever he may be!”’ Before Woodpecker sent his speaker to call the stranger, he sent for the Clam (Hé’tcin'qas) to come to his house. When the Clam had entered, he said, ‘‘Now, Clam, J am going to send for the owner of that painted house; and when he comes, I want to find out who he is, and what power he has in the way of magic. So I am going to ask him to play some kind of game before I feed him; and before he plays, I will call you by name to come out and show him your trick, that is, to squirt water through a stone, as you always do; and after you have done it, I will give the stranger another stone. He shall try and force water throughit, as you do. Of course, if he can not do it, we have nothing to be afraid of; but if he can do it like you, then he may be able to kill us by squirting water on us. Then we shall have to kill him. Now, that is all I want of you,” said Woodpecker to the Clam. After he had finished speaking, he called four of his speakers, saying, ‘‘I want you to go and invite the stranger who lives in that new house to come and eat in my house.”’ Then the four speakers went out of their chief’s house, and walked off to the front of the stranger’s house, and began to call out loudly from outside of the house, saying, ‘‘We come to invite you, chief of this house! for our chief, Woodpecker, who is over all our tribe, said so; and we are to wait for you to come along with us now.” And Kwa’tiyat’ called his two wives, saying, ‘‘ Now, Chief Woodpecker calls us to go to his house; and he told his speakers to wait for us and bring us along with them.’”’ Then they got ready, and all three came out of the monster fish’s mouth. When Kwa’tiyat’ came out, he looked very handsome; he looked like a great chief; he even looked greater than Woodpecker, his master; and the four speakers led the way. Kwa’tiyat'’s two wives walked ahead of him; and when they went into the house, Chief Woodpecker told his speaker to take them to the rear of the house, and they sat on a new mat that was spread there for them. After they had sat down, Wood- pecker said to his chief speaker, ‘Will you tell this chief that I want to know his name, and also where he came from?” Then the speaker asked Kwa’tiyat* all that the chief wanted to know; but Kwa’tiyat’ only kept quiet. [One thing I have forgotten; that is, that Kwa’tiyat® said to the four speakers, “I will not go to your chief’s house unless he lays roof boards on the ground from your chief’s house door to my house door, for me to walk on, for I don’t walk on the ground of the place where I come from.” The four speakers went back to Chief Wood- pecker’s house and told him what had been said by Kwa’tiyat’. Then Chief Woodpecker was half afraid of him, and said, “Get all my people to get one board from their house roof and lay it on the BOAS] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 919 ground.” After this had been done, the same speakers went and told Kwa’tiyat’ that the boards were all laid on the ground, and then he came.] Then the chief said to Kwa’tiyat’, ‘Before we begin to eat, we — will play a game; for that is always the custom with my people.” Then he called Clam (Hé’tcin‘qas) and one of his friends, and told them to play some kind of game; and they both came. One of them carried a black flat stone. Then they showed it to Kwa’tiyat’; and after he had a good look at it, Clam took it and squirted some water against the flat side of the hard black flat stone, and the water made a hole clear through it. After he had done this, he gave it to his friend; and he also squirted water at it and made a hole through it. After he had done his work, he walked up to Kwa’tiyat® aad gave it to him, and said, “Will you also do as we did to this stone? Now, see whether you can make a hole through it as easily as we have!’’ Then Kwa’tiyat’ took the stone; and he took into his mouth water from a bucket, and held the stone in front of his mouth and began to force the water between his lips, and he also made a hole through the stone. Then he threw the stone down. Woodpecker looked as though he were afraid of him, and said, ‘This man has strong magic m him.” Kwa’tiyat® heard him saying all these things, and he began to laugh loud, and said, “‘What is the matter with you, my master Wood- pecker? for you do not seem to know your own slave Kwa’tiyat’.” As soon as he said these words, his two wives disappeared, and the house also was gone; and Kwa’tiyat® got back his old ugly face, just as he was before he got married to the Sharks’ two princesses; and after Woodpecker found out who he was, he took a stick and beat him until he was dead. That ends the story. 8. How Ya £0£4 Went To Ger MarRIED TO THE SALMON PRINCESS Once upon a time there lived two chiefs—one in Yogwat, whose nameé was Y4/ld‘a‘, the head chief; and his rival, a chief whose name was Hekwatses. These two chiefs were all the time gambling by throwing eagle-wing feathers (é’féci*nak’) at a target; and Hekwatses, the second chief, was always on the losing side. For a long time he tried to beat his rival by playing this game; so he said to himself, “Now, I will go to the lake to wash my body every night with hem- lock branches and water, so as to beat my rival in that game I am playing with him.” So in the night Hekwatses left his wife alone in bed; and before he left her he told her that he was going to stay at the lake (or 2/#’tsi¢*) all night to wash his body with hemlock branches for good luck against his rival. After he had finished telling this, he went out of his bedroom. There was a very old man lying down near the fire. Hekwatses asked 920 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY. [ETH. ANN. 31 him what he should do with himself in the lake to get good luck; “for,” said he, ‘‘whenever I play a game with Ya’ld‘a‘, I lose con- tinually, and now I want you to tell me what to do to myself in the lake.” The old man said, ‘In the first place, you have to tell your wife not to move about in your bed, and not to roll about; but she must lie on her right side all night, until you come home in the morning. Now, when you reach the lake, wet some hemlock branches and rub them on your body. First, you must make four bunches of them—two bunches for the right side of your body, and two for the left side. You will have to keep rubbing them on your body until you get warm with the pain they will make. Then you must go into the water and get cooled down. Then keep on rubbing until the blood comes through your skin; and after you have done this, dive into the water and stay under just as long as your breath will let you. Now, you must do this four times, and just before daylight you will do so again. Then he cooled himself; for he was very warm from the rubbing he had with the four bunches of hemlock branches. After he had finished, he sat under a tree alongside of the lake, and just before daylight he went through all that he had done in the night. When he had finished, he came home, and lay down in one corner of the house. Now, as soon as Hekwatses had gone out of his house, the old man thought he saw a man enter, who seemed to go into Hekwatses’s bedroom. Then he thought he heard Hekwatses’s wife laugh with a man; but the old man said to himself, “I will sit close to the door, and see him go out in the morning;”’ and he sat alongside of the door, where no one could see him. Just past midnight he saw the man come out of the bedroom of Hekwatses. He passed close to the old man, as he was sitting there; and the old man thought that this man was Chief Ya’td‘a*. Then the man went out of the door, and the old man lay down in his bed. He thought to himself, ‘‘I will not say anything to my chief, Hekwatses, about it, for it is only one night she will do that against her husband.” As soon as night came on, Hekwatses went out of the house without saying a word to any one; he did not even speak a word to his wife. Then he went to the lake again, and began to take another four branches of hemlock trees; and he tied them in four bunches, and began to go through what he had done the first night. After he had finished, he went out and sat under the tree where he had sat the first night. Just before daylight he took another bath, as he had done before; and when he had finished, he went home and lay down. in the corner again. The old man, however, saw the man come into the house and go into the bedroom of Hekwatses; and he heard them play together al Boas] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 921 and laugh. That made the old man angry; and he said to himself, “T will tell my chief all about this now, for his wife is helping his rival.’’ As soon as the chief came to him, he said, ‘‘Sit down here close to me, for I have something important to tell you!’ This was before Hekwatses’s wife woke up in the morning. The old man said, “‘T did not want to tell you about this matter, but I could not help it, for I am sorry for you. Now, these two nights, while you went to bathe to get good luck against your rival, instead of your wife trying to help you, she let your rival Ya’td‘a‘ come and sleep with her.” Then Hekwatses said to the old man, ‘‘Don’t tell any man what you. have told me about this matter, for I will let him know that I know something about it tonight.’ This he said as he went and lay down in the corner of his house. After a while his wife came out of the bedroom and sat down along- side of the fire. She began to get something ready to eat for herself. Then she began to eat; and-after she had finished eating, she went into her bedroom again and went to sleep, for she had not had any sleep in the night. All the time she was eating, however, her hus- band had been watching her movements; and she looked as if she were sleepy. When night came again, Hekwatses got up from the corner and went to his little hunting-box and took something out of it. Then he went out of the house, and all the people of the house went to bed earlier than they usually did. Then Ya’td‘a‘, the head chief, came into the house as soon as he saw that they had all gone to bed; and he went into the bedroom of Hekwatses and his wife. As soon as Hekwatses saw Ya’ld‘a‘ go into his house and into his bedroom (for this time he did not go to the lake; he merely staid outside of his house to see the chief go in), he went to the rear of his house and listened to his wife laughing with Ya/ld‘a‘, his rival; and for a long time they were playing together. After a while he heard them go off to sleep. Very soon they were snoring. .Then he said to himself, ‘‘Now, I will go in and see them.’’ Then he went into his house, for the doors of the first people never used to be shut at night. He went into the bed- room, and there he saw that his wife had her naked arm round the neck of Ya’tofa‘. Then Hekwatses touched his wife’s arm, but she did not move. He had in his hand a sea-otter spear (ak/aak’); and with this he poked into Ya’to‘a"’s right eye, and dug it out of its socket; he took hold of it and pulled it out. Then Hekwatses ran out with the ball of Ya/t0‘a‘’s eye in his hand; and Ya’to‘a‘ also ran out, for he was screaming with pain. He went into his house and staid inside for four days. He was ashamed to go out, for he had been a handsome man, but now he had only one eye. After he had been four days in the house, he sent for a wise man, whose name was 922 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [wrn. ANN. 31 Inventor (Genayo). When Inventor entered the bedroom of Ya’to‘a‘, the head chief, he saw that he had only one eye. Then Inventor asked him how he had lost his right eye; and Ya’to‘a‘ said, ‘‘T lost my eye while going through the woods to bathe in the lake, for gambling against Hekwatses; a stick poked my right eye, and that is why I sent for you to come and tell me what to do to put it right again.” Then Inventor told Ya’/t0‘a‘ that he could not give him any answer that day. ‘‘But,” said he, ‘‘tonight I will see what, I can do for you.’ Then Inventor left the chief, and the chief told him not to tell any one about his losing one of his eyes. At night Inventor found out what to do, and in the morning he went back to Ya’/ld‘a’s house. He told him that he had found out a way; that was for Ya’lo‘a* to go round the world and get married to some chief’s daughter who had supernatural power. Then Ya’to‘a'‘, the chief, said, ‘‘ How shall I go round the world?” and Inventor said, “‘T will make for you a garment (yaha’k') out of a swan’s skin, and you will have to put it on, for everybody likes to get a swan’s skin; and when people see you sitting on the salt water in front of the village, you must look for a pretty princess for your wife. They will go out in canoes to catch you. All the time you are sitting on the water you will see the people come out of their houses to look at you Then you can pick out a pretty woman who pleases you.” Inventor had a bundle under his arm, which he pulled out—it was a swan’s skin; so he stretched it until it was big enough to cover Chief Ya’lo‘a"s body. When it was finished, Inventor asked the chief if he had a pillow of eagle’s down (mathap!et); and the chief said, ‘‘Yes, I have.” Then he said, ‘‘Have ten small baskets made, and fill them from the pillow of eagle’s down. You will have to take also food and water with you,” said he. It did not take the women long to get ten small baskets made. Then Inventor filled them with the eagle’s down, and he said to the chief, ‘‘The place from which you are going to get your wife will look like eagle’s down.”” Then he put the swan’s skin on the chief, and he put the ten small baskets of eagle’s down inside of the skin, and also some food and water; then he said, ‘‘Now, you are ready to go.” The chief asked, ‘‘How shall I get out of the house?” and Inventor said, ‘‘I will go on the roof and take some of the boards off to make an open place for you to fly through.”’ Then he went and moved two roof boards and made an opening. Then he came down, and said, ‘‘Now, fly up!” and the Swan flew up from the floor, and went through to the roof late at night. In the morning early he went and sat in front of the Haskweyat village. One man of that tribe got up early and went out of his house; and the first thing he saw was a great white swan sitting on the salt water in front of the village. Then the man went into the BOAS] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 923 house and called his brother secretly, and said, ‘‘Get up and let us go and catch a pretty white swan sitting on the salt water in front of us!” and each took a paddle, and they went out in a canoe. They tried to catch the bird, but it kept out of their way; and when they saw that they could not catch it, they called for help, and all the men and women came out of their houses. Then Ya/lo‘a‘ could see all the women. Many canoes went out to him, and they paddled all round him; for they wanted to catch him alive. As he saw no pretty women there, however, he said, ‘‘I will fly away, for there is no woman here good-looking enough for me.’’ Then he flew over the canoes, and it took him until night to go to Ahousat. Then he sat on the salt water very close to the village beach. Early in the morn- ing one of the old men of that tribe went out to pass water; and as soon as he opened the door he saw the great white swan sitting on the salt water close to the beach. Then he called out loudly, and told all the people to come out and look at it. Very soon all the men and children came out of their houses, and all the spearmen took their canoes and spears and went out to spear it. Then Ya‘lo‘a‘ the bird said to himself, ‘‘There are no pretty women here; I will go farther on,” and he flew over all the canoes. In the night he came to another village, the Clayoquot village, and he stopped there and waited for daylight. When daylight came, he went close inshore to the beach of the village. Early in the morning a young man came out of his house, and the first thing his eye fell on was the white swan sitting on the salt water. Then he went in and called his brother up from sleep, and said to him, ‘Get up! for there is a white swan sitting on the salt water very close to shore;”’ and they took their paddles and went out of their houses. They went into a canoe and paddled after the bird, but it was too quick for them. After these two men got tired paddling, they called the people of the tribe to try and catch the white swan. Very soon all the men and women came out of their houses, and Ya’ld‘a‘ the swan looked for a pretty. woman among them all; but there was none, so he flew away before all the canoes were ready to come out to him. He kept on going until night, and late that same night he came to a village. That village belonged to the Ucluelet tribe. So he sat on the salt water, as he always did, close to the beach of the village; and early in the morning a woman came out of her house, and she saw the white swan sitting on the water. Then she called her husband out and told him to go and try to catch it. This man took four men in a canoe with him to catch the swan, and the swan was too quick for him also. When they got tired, they called out to their people to come too, and all the people of the tribe came out to see the bird as it was sitting on the water. Then Ya’ld‘a‘ looked to see if there 924 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 37 was a pretty woman among them; but there was none, so he flew away again until night came on. Then he came to a village belonging to the Seshart (Ts !ic&’‘ath*) tribe; and he went and sat on the water close to the beach of the village. As soon as daylight came, he saw a young man come out of his house. Now, this young man had been to see his sweetheart in the night, and that is why he got up early that morning. As soon as he saw the great swan, he called out for everybody to get up; and as soon as he called out, all the men and women came out of their houses; and the first thing they did was to go to the beach and push their canoes down to the salt water and paddle after him. Then Ya'lo‘a* looked to see if there was a pretty young woman among them, and this time he saw a very pretty one. While he was being chased by the people, he was making up his mind whether he had better let them catch him or not. Then he said, “I am all right as I am, for I can come back again if I do not find a prettier woman farther on.’”’ Then he flew away again. Late in the night he came to the village of the Oiaht (Hd‘a’i‘ath*) tribe, and there also he went and sat close to the beach of the houses. In the morning he saw a man come out of his house, and he also began to call out to the people to get up and see a strange-looking bird sit- ting on the salt water. Very soon all the women and men came out of their houses. Before they went down to their canoes, he saw there were no pretty women there, so he flew away until night came. Then he saw another large village, belonging to the Niti/nafath® tribe; and he went close inshore and sat on the salt water. In the morning two men came out of their houses. Each of them was carrying a paddle (‘orwa’p'), and they went down to the beach and pushed a canoe into the water. They both went aboard; and as soon as they paddled, one of them saw the swan close to them, and they paddled after it. The bird was too quick for them; and while these two men were chasing it, more canoes came out, until there were more than a hundred canoes chasing it. Ya’lo‘a* let them chase him until all the women of the village came out of their houses; and when he saw that there was none good-looking enough for him, he flew away. Late in the night he came to the village belonging to the Makah (L!a’os’ath*) tribe, and went close to the beach of that village and sat on the water. In the morning a man came out of his house; and when he came out of the door, his eye fell on the white bird. Then he called out to all the people of that tribe to come and see it, and very soon all the people came out of their houses; then all the people said, ‘‘Let us try to catch it!” but as soon as Ya’l6’*a* saw there was no woman pretty enough for him, he flew away until night. Again he came to a village belonging to the Konyot!ath* (proba- bly Quilleyute), and here also he stopped close to the village; early Se BOAS] APPENDIX I—- NOOTKA TALES 925 in the morning an old man came out of his house, and he saw the swan first. He began to pray to the great bird to give him long life. He was saying his prayer aloud, and some of the people heard him. They came out to see what he was praying to; and then they saw the great white swan sitting close inshore. Each took a paddle and went down to a canoe (¢cela’pats), and they went out to try to catch the bird. The old man called out loudly to them not to try to catch it, for he knew that the swan was something more than a common swan. He told them that he had dreamed of a swan that had aman inside of it, who was going round the world to try to find a pretty young woman for his wife. The people of the village heard him saying this; and in a very short time every man and woman of that village came out, and there Ya’lo‘a‘ saw a very pretty woman. He thought at first that he had better let them catch him; but he said, ‘No, if I don’t see any (pretty women) farther on, I can come to this place again and let them catch me, for I am very comfortable here;” and now many canoes came out to try to catch him, but he flew over them and went on westward. Now and then he went across the great sea, and then he thought he had better go northward. It was nearly daylight when he came to a village, and he stopped very close to the beach. This village belonged to the Ets!logwat. There he saw an old woman come out of a house; and the first thing her eye fell on was the great white swan sitting on the salt water, very close inshore. She also cried out to the people to come out of their houses to look at the bird, and very soon all the people came out. In this place he did not see any pretty young women; so, before the people went down to their canoes, he flew away, and kept his course northward. It was late in the night when he came to a village that belonged to the Dzodedet. Again he saw a man come out with a paddle in his hand, and a spear; and as soon as he came out of his house, he stopped when he saw the great white swan sitting very close to where He was standing. Then he called to the people to come out and look at the great white swan sitting on the salt water, and soon all the men and women came out of their houses. Ya’lo‘a‘ did not see any woman pretty enough for him; but all the men had three streaks down their chins and one on each side of their faces, just under their eyes. After they had all come out, he did not see any pretty girl there, and he flew away again. Now he came to a strange country; and he kept on flying until just before daylight, when he came to a village that belonged to the Sardines (?)(Amenal). Now, itseemed to him that these people never went to sleep, for he heard them playing a long while before he came to their village. They are very small, the tallest being only two spans and a half high, and there were many of them; but he did not see any women pretty enough for him. 926 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN, 31 Then he flew away northward again, and he kept on flying until | night. He heard many children playing ahead of him. He went on in the direction the sound came from, and in a very short time came to the village of a happy people. They were playing all night. He went and sat very close to the beach on the salt water. Now, this village belonged to the Herring (Lu’smit‘). They were a little bigger people than the Sardines, and they were spawning at the time Ya'lo‘a° came to their village. He staid there until daylight, and they were playing all that time. In the morning he saw them running in at the front door of a great long house and out at the back door, and then back through the front door again. They were going round all the time, and they seemed to be blind. It was late in the day when some one stopped and looked outward; and as soon as he caught sight of the great white swan, he called out to his friends and told them about what he had seen. All the people rushed out of the long house, and then they said that they would go and try to catch him; but Ya/lo‘a‘ said, ‘‘I don’t see any pretty young women here, I will leave them.” So he flew away before any of them came down to their canoes. He kept on going northward, and in the night he came to a village that belonged to the Cohoes Salmon (Tso’‘wit‘). These people are of thesame size as we are, and there was a large village which belonged to them. In the morning he saw many men come out of a large house; and they saw the swan sitting on the salt water very close to the beach of their village. The first thing they did was to go and get a paddle each, and their spears; and they went down to their canoes and tried to catch the swan. After all the people had come out of their houses, he saw many women with light-colored hair; and they were very pretty. Now, he was going to let them catch him; but he said, ‘‘T am all right, for I still have much food and water. I can come back to this place again, so I will go on a little farther to see the world;” and he flew away again. For two days he was flying. Then he came to a village. It was a very large one. The houses were large, and the people were stout and heavy. It was in the night that he came there and sat on the salt water in front of the village. Early in the morning a young man came out of a house to pass water; and as he came out of the house, he saw the swan sitting on the water in front of the village. Then he began to call out to the people of the tribe to come out to see the swan. Very soon all the men and women came out to see him. Now, this village belonged to the Spring Salmon (Sa’ts!op‘) tribe; and when they had all come out of their houses, the chief, Ya’lo‘a‘, said that he had never seen any uglier people than they were. Then they also tried to catch him in their canoes; but he flew away from them, and he flew all day long north- ward. EE ————EE————————ee ’ ose e-@ Boas] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 927 Late in the night he came to a double village, or one that looked as if there were two villages; for there was one village on one side of a small bay, and there was another on the other side. Then he sat on the salt water, just in the middle of the bay. Now, one of these villages belonged to the Dog Salmon (Nek!awas), and the other belonged to the Humpbacked Fish (Dzabe). As soon as it was daylight, a Dog Salmon man came out of his house; one of the Humpbacked Fish men also came out of his house; and these two men saw the swan at the same time. They began to call to their people to go out in their canoes to try to catch the bird. The Humpbacked Fish went out in their canoes first; then the Dog Salmon people came out after them in their canoes; and that is why the Dog Salmon tribe always come before the Humpbacked Fish to the rivers. Then all the canoes chased him, and all the men and women came out of their houses. All the time they were chasing the swan, he was looking at a very pretty woman standing at the door of a great house. Then he said to himself, ‘‘I will let the chief, Fast Swimmer (Hin‘k!6” as), catch me.” Of course, the chief was allowed by his people to go first, and the bird began to go very slowly. Then the chief caught him and brought him to shore. The first thing his daughter said was, ‘‘Father, now you have caught that pretty white swan, will you give it to me for my pet?” and her father said, ‘‘Yes, for I love you. I will give it to you.” After they had finished talking, they spread on the floor a new mat for the swan to sit on. After it was seated there, everybody went out of the house except the chief, Fast Swimmer; and Ya’ld‘a‘ said to himself, ‘‘Now I will show myself to the chief.’”’ Then he put his hands out from the bird’s wings, and took hold of its beak and lifted it off his head, and said, ‘‘O Chief Fast Swimmer! I am a man, and I have come to marry your princess.” When the chief saw him and heard him speak, he laughed, and said, ‘‘That was just what I expected. Now, I will let you marry my princess; and I will call all my people in, and you shall get married to her before them all.” But Ya’lo‘a’ said to the chief, ‘‘Could you cure my eye before you call all your people in?” and Chief Fast Swimmer said, “Yes, I will call one of my men, who will set it right.” He called an old man, and the chief told him what he wanted him to do. The man went out, and it was not long before he came back. He carried a piece of alder (qa’q’mapt) in his hand, and he took four stones and put them into the fire. After that he took the alder wood and cut it into a ball just big enough to fit into Ya’- 1o'a’s eye; and after he had finished it, he took a small steaming- box and put a little water into it. Then he took the red-hot stones 928 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. ANN. 31 and put them into the box of water. When the water was boiling, he put the ball of alder wood into it; and in a short time he took it out and put it into Ya’l0‘a"’s eye-socket. He worked it about until it was turned into a living eyeball; and he also pressed Ya’t0‘a‘’s face and made him look like a very handsome man. After he. had finished it, he went out of the house. Then Ya’l0‘a‘ said to the chief, ‘‘Now I want to tell you something before you call your people in. I have brought ten basketfuls of eagle’s down (mathaplet). I think you will want to give one basketful away to your people, and you yourself may take nine basketfuls for my marriage-gift to your princess.” The chief was much pleased at this, for all that the salmon come to the rivers for is to get the eagle’s down that drifts on the waters. So after he had finished speaking, the chief called his speakers. There were four of them; and when they came, he told them to go and call all the people into his house, for his princess was going to be married to a stranger. Then the four speakers went out of the chief’s house and called aloud to the people to come into the chief’s house to see the marriage of the princess to a stranger. Then, of course, everybody wanted to see what he meant; for they did not know that Ya’lo‘a‘ and the swan were one. Everybody went into the chief’s house; and after they were all in, the chief himself spoke and told his people about the great white swan that he had caught; that he was the chief Ya‘lo‘a° whom they had heard talked about; and that he came to take his daughter for his wife; and also that he had given him something that he knew they would all like to have, and that was eagle’s down. “And now,” said he, “TI am going to call him and his wife out of their room to come and sit down there,’’ pointing his forefinger at a mat that was spread at the rear of the house. As soon as he called to them to come, the princess came ahead of Ya/ld‘a‘, and they went and sat on the mat. Now, it is said that Ya’l0‘a‘ looked very hand- some; for he had his face painted, and he had abalone shells on his ears and a small one on his nose; he also had eagle’s down on his hair, and he had put down on his wife also. . i When they came in, all the Dog Salmon people said, “There’s a chief! See, he has much valuable property on him!’ (They meant the eagle’s down.) As soon as they sat down on the mat, all the speakers got up and told the people that they were husband and wife now, and that the chief would bring out the small basket of eagle’s down. Then it was brought out by one of the chief’s men; and they opened it and gave each chief four pieces of eagle’s down, and every one of the common men got one piece of it. They were much pleased with it, and thanked Ya’td‘a‘ for bringing it to them. He was treated well by all the people. Whenever he was hungry, they would send a BOAS] APPENDIX I NOOTKA TALES 929 little boy to the salt water; and as soon as he went into the water, he would turn into a salmon. Then they would catch him and cut him open, and either roast him or boil him in the steaming-box with red-hot stones. After Ya’lo‘a‘ finished eating it, they would pick up all the bones and skins and put them all back into the salt water. Then the boy would come to life again. Now, Ya’l0‘a° was very happy with his wife, for now he was treated as a chief by all the Salmon people. Very soon his wife was preg- nant, and she delivered a baby-boy. Then the chief of the Dog Salmon one day saw Ya’lo‘a‘ look as though he were downhearted, and he told his daughter to ask him what was the matter. When she asked him about it, he said, ‘Nothing; I am only thinking about my poor parents.’”’ She told this to her father; and he then said to his daughter, ‘Tell your husband that I will send four of my men to go and see how they are getting on; and when they come back and tell us how they are, then we shall know what to do about your husband.” Then he called the Fast Swimmers, and told them to go and see his son-in-law’s father and mother and find out whether they were well or not. Then these four men said that they would go in the morning very early, so as to be home in four days’ time. Early in the morning they started; and after four days they came home and told their chief that they had found Ya/td‘a”’s father and mother living in a small house down close to the beach, and that they had their hair cut short on account of the death of their son Ya’lo‘a’ | and that the people did not treat them as they do a chief. . After these four men finished telling this to their chief, he called Ya/ld‘a‘ and his wife and told them the news. Then he asked Ya/lo‘a‘ if he wanted to go home; and Ya‘to‘a’ said, ‘‘I don’t know how to go home. I should like to go and see my parents if I knew the way.” Then the chief told the four speakers to call his people into his house; and the four speakers went and stood outside of the house and called out to the people and told them that the chief wanted them to come into his house. It did not take them long to come in; and when they were all inside, the chief spoke, telling the people that his son-in-law wanted to go home to see his parents. ‘‘Now,” said he, ‘‘I want you to make ten large canoes for us all to go with him, his wife and his two children. I want these ten large canoes to be ready in three days’ time, so that we may start on the fourth day.” All the people were pleased to hear him say this, for they had heard so much about this part of the world that they wanted to go and see it. In three days’ time the canoe was ready; and the chief called his people into his house again, and asked them if they requested anything of Ya/lo‘a‘ before he was taken home; and the wise man of the Dog Salmon said, ‘‘We had better tell Ya’lo‘a’ what we want 506383 °—31 ErH—16——59 930 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [prH. ANN. 31 his people to do for us, and what we should like them to put on the water for us to get. Now, the first thing we always like to get from them is eagle’s down; and mussel-shells (z/o’tc!im*), the large ones; and the hap/atci’m‘—these three things we always like to have. We also do not want them to use blunt-pointed spears on us, for it hurts; and whenever they make salmon traps to catch us with, let them shave the sticks well and put a good sharp point on them. Also, whenever they cook salmon in any way, and whenever they finish eating it, let them pick up all the bones and pieces of skin and throw them into the salt water. Then we can come home again. If they do not do that, we can not come to life again.” After the wise man had finished speaking, Chief Fast Swimmer spoke again, saying, ‘‘Now, I want one of you, my speakers, to give my son-in-law a blanket to wear when we come to his home;”’ and the head speaker got up and said, ‘‘I will give your son-in-law my four-times-jumper blanket; and whenever he wears it, he can jump out of the water four times.” Then the people said, ‘‘Let us go and see him try the blanket on!” and they gave Ya’l0‘a‘ the salmon-skin blanket, yet it looked to him like a fur blanket. Then he put it on, and he was taken down to the beach and told to go into the salt water; and as soon as he went into the salt water, he was turned into a dog salmon. Then he jumped out of the water four times, but he did not jump the right way. After he had jumped out of the water four times, he came out and was turned into a man again. When he came out of the water, his father-in-law said to his people, “‘T do not like the way that blanket jumps, for four times is not enough for him. I will give him my ten-times-jumper blanket; and I will try and get it now,” said he, as he ran up the beach. He went into his house; and very soon he came out carrying his blanket in his hand; and when he came up to where Ya/lo‘a° was standing, he told him to take the four-times-jumper blanket off and to put the ten-times-jumper blanket on. Then Ya’lo‘a‘ took off the blanket and put the new one on. Then he was told to go and try that one in the salt water; and as soon as he went into the water, he turned into a pretty dog salmon, and began to jump ten times without anything going wrong with him. Then he came out of the water and was turned into a man again. After they had finished, the chief of the Dog Salmon told his people not to forget to take the boils, or ‘sickness of swelling,” for a bottom board of the ten canoes. The people got their canoes ready; and when everything was in readiness, in the evening the chief of the Dog Salmon sent his four speakers to call the men, women, and chil- dren into his house. In a very short time all came in. Then he took the remaining nine baskets of eagle’s down, and gave them to er a ee ee BOAS] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 931 his people. After he had finished, he told them to get up early in the morning to take his son-in-law home. After he had stopped speaking, the people came out of the house; and early in the morn- ing the chief speaker went out and called to all the people to get up and start away. Very soon everybody got up and went out and down to their canoes. Ya’ld‘a* and his wife and two children also got into their canoe. Then they started, and it took them four days to get to Place Of False River. (Wak-at!a). In the night all the canoes stopped there, just outside of Yogwat; and then Ya/ld‘a‘ was told to go and tell his father and all his people to get up early and go to T!aci’* River, make an open salmon trap (nixt’s) there, and put it into the river when it rained, and not to club the four salmon after they groaned; and after they got these four salmon, to take them home and cut them open, roast them, and eat them, and to pick up every little piece of bone and skin and flesh and throw them into the water. ‘‘Now, go!” said the chief to his son-in-law. Ya’ld‘a‘ all the time had the ten-times-jumper blanket on. Then he went overboard, and jumped just ten times when he landed at Rocky Point (Ti’lot), on the east point of Friendly Cove. Then he walked over to the village, and there he found a very small house on the beach. He went into it, and he saw a little fire in the middle of the little house, and he rearranged the fire: ; Then his father spoke angrily, saying, ‘‘Who are you that comes to our house? You know very well that our son is dead, and that we do not want any one to come and make fun of us.” After the old man had finished speaking, Ya’ld‘a° spoke, and said, ‘“‘T am your son Ya’ld‘a’. I have come home with my wife and two sons; and now I come to tell you to go to T!aci’* early in the morning with all your people.” Then he told his father all about what his father-in-law had told him to say to him; and after he had doneso, he went away again into the salt water, and he jumped ten times and came up to the canoes and went into his own. Then the chief, Ya/l6‘a‘’s father-in-law, told all the people which river to go to; so they all went to the different streams. But one canoe went to Tlaci’* River: that was Ya’l0‘a’s canoe. Their chief also told them to come home in the month of November, not later. Then they all parted, and Ya’l0‘a"’s canoe arrived at T!laci” early the next morning. When morning came, Ya’l0‘a"’s father called everybody, and told them to go to Tlaci”, and said that they would find his son Ya‘To‘a‘ there; but everybody said, ‘‘How are we going to find him, for he is dead?” But he was very happy, and said, ‘‘Get your canoes ready and let us go!’”” Then they said, ‘‘ We will go anywhere to find him;” and they all went to T!aci”. 932 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BrH. ANN. 31 The first thing the old man did was to make a salmon trap (nizis) ; and as soon as it was finished, it rained a little. Then he put it into the river, and the next morning he went tosee it. When he came to it, he found four pretty dog salmon in it, and he took a small stick to club them. Then he took the largest one out and began clubbing it until it groaned. Then he stopped. He did the same thing to the others. Then he took them home and told his wife to cut them open and to cook them at once, and his wife cut them up and cooked them all. After the salmon had been cooked, they called some of their friends to come and help them eat it; and when they had finished eating, the old man picked up every piece of bone and skin and flesh, for he had faith in what his son had said to him. He called all the people to come out of the house to see what he was going to do. Then they came out; and the old man went down to the beach, carrying the box of bones. He threw the box into the salt water. As soon as it went under the water, they saw Ya’lo‘a* and his wife and the two boys come out of the salt water; and they went into their house. Now all the people were happy to see their chief home again, and they began to call him and his family to a feast to make sure that it was he; for they thought if it really were Ya’to‘a‘, he would not eat anything. He ate whatever was given to him, however. Then he told them all about what he was told to tell the people, and what the salmon like; and that whenever the women are cutting any kind of salmon, theyshould keep their legs wide open, and should not use any other knife than a large mussel-shell for cutting the salmon open, so that they can get the broken pieces; and that the men should not use a blunt-pointed spear-head on the salmon, for they say it hurts them more than a sharp one. That is all, only that Ya’lo‘a’ is the head chief of his tribe now, and that is how the Indians know that the Salmon are men, as we are. That ends the story. 9. How Raven Commitrrep Rape oN THE Octopus WoMAN (A Mowa’iclath* Story) Once upon a time there lived in the village at Yogwat a man whose name was Raven (Qo’‘cin‘‘mit'), and he was a chief of that tribe. He was always taking a walk to different places. One day he thought he would go to ‘mo‘wi’n‘is River; and when he came up to the little river, he thought he would better go to Running Tide Place (Ts!ats!e). The tide was very low, and there was a long rock on the beach. Alongside of it he saw an object moving that looked somewhat like a woman, and he went into the woods so that this thing could not see : | Boas] APPENDIX I—NOOTKA TALES 933 “him. When he came out to look at her, he went behind the rock and walked down toward it, and the woman was on the other side. When he came up to the rock, he looked over it, and there he saw a pretty woman digging for clams. Shé was so pretty that he could not stop himself: he sprang on her and committed rape. As soon as he came up to her, however, she turned into an octopus (fi’fop), which held him until the tide came in and drowned him. Then she let him go, and he was washed up to the beach. A canoe came along and found him lying on the beach dead; and the people said, ‘‘Oh, here is our chief dead!’ But as soon as they had said this, he awoke, and said that he had been sleeping there instead of being dead. So he came home and had a good time with his people again. That ends the story. 10. How Raven was In THE Woops For A LOKWA’NA‘ Dancr AT YOGWAT Once upon a time there lived a man whose name was Raven (Qo’