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 C()iii]-,liiiH"iiti; ot FitANZ Boas. 
 
 liJ.{ W .St 82ii<l Str.ct, 
 
 N«'w York Citv. 
 
13 61 
 
 7 
 
 ' C I u 
 
 Traditions of the Tsets a ut. 257 
 
 TRADITIONS OF THE TS'ETS'A'UT.» 
 
 I. 
 
 In the winter of 1894-95 I visited Portland Inlet, a deep fjord 
 whic'i forms the boundary between Alaska and British Columbia. 
 In this region were said to live the few remaining members of a 
 tribe which had not heretofore been studied. The tribe is called 
 Ts'Ets'fi'ut by the Tsimshian and by the Nass River Indians. After 
 a prolonged search I found a few members of the tribe, which 
 proved to belong to the Tinneh stock. Such ethnological data as I 
 have been able to obtain are given in the Tenth Report of the Com- 
 mittee on the Northwestern Tribes of Canada, under whose auspices 
 I visited the tribe {B. A. A. S. 1895). In the following pages I 
 give such traditions as I have been able to collect. As the tribe is 
 reduced to twelve members, it is not likely that much more material 
 will ever be obtained. The traditions- resemble in character very 
 much those recorded by E. Petitot from the Tinneh tribes of the 
 Mackenzie Basin, but they evidently have been greatly influenced 
 by Tlingit tales, as will be shown in accompanying notes. 
 
 I. BROTHER AND SISTER. 
 
 Once upon a time there were four brothers and a sister whose 
 parents had died. One day they went up Tcu'nax River until 
 they reached its headwaters, which are called xaga. There they 
 stayed hunting the mountain goat. The eldest of the brothers had 
 fallen in love with his sister, who returned his affection. Then the 
 other brothers grew ashamed. They tied the two together with 
 cedar-withes, so that the man's head was between the feet of the 
 woman, while her head was between the man's feet, and thus left 
 them. Tlie eldest brother, however, was so strong that he tore 
 apart his bonds, and liberated himself and his sister. He fo' i a 
 cave, which they used as a dwelling-place. After some time his 
 sister gave birth to a boy. One day, when she left the house, she 
 saw many mountain goats grazing on the hill opposite. She ran 
 back into the cave, and called her brother: "Come and look at the 
 mountain goats." He went out and looked at them. On this, they 
 
 ' Indian words are to be pronounced as follows : — 
 
 The vowL'l.s Iiave tlieir continental sounds, namely: a Zism father ; ^ like a in 
 mate ; i as in viachine ; o as in note ; u as in ntte. 
 
 In addition tlie folJowinij are used : a, o as in (German ; h=aw in litw; / as in 
 tell ; t as in liil/ ; o as in (lerman toIIj k — e '\nflo7ver (Lepsius's §). 
 
 AiTiony; tlie consonants the following additional letters have been used : q velar 
 k ; X the (lerman ch in Bach; x' the German ch in ich; X between 4* and jr ; 
 c=sh in shore ; L an explosive, dorso-apicai /; ' a pause. 
 
 VOL. IX. — NO. 35. 17 
 
 23[{IS8 
 
258 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lore. 
 
 fell dead and rolled down the mountain towards the cave. He had 
 attained supernatural powers. His gaze killed whomever and what- 
 ever he looked at. Then he said to his wife : " Go and gather 
 stones, with which to skin the goats." She -vent down to the river, 
 and gathered many thin pebbles. When she had brought them to 
 the cave, her husband was not satisfied with them. He himself 
 went to tbo' river, and found many new stone knives and axes. 
 These he carried to the cave, and he and his wife began to skin the 
 goats. But they did not cut open their bellies and strip off the 
 skin, as it is the custom to do : they cut the feet, and skinned them 
 as we do martens. In thib manner he skinned one buck, a she goat, 
 and a kid, and father, mother, and son put on their skins. 
 
 Then the father said : " Now I will go down the river and build 
 houses for our use." He started, and after he had gone some dis- 
 tance he made a natural bridge across the river, and many caves in 
 the sides of the mountains. Then he said to his wife : " Now I will 
 make the sea. The ocean shall be in the v.est, the land shall be in 
 the east." Thus the sea was created. And he continued : " I will 
 make a hole, so that the water of the sea may run down through it 
 and come back again. Then there will be ebb-tide and flood-tide," 
 But his wife asked him : " Do not make the hole here, for men are 
 living near by, and the hole might swallow them. Make it far 
 away in midocean." 
 
 Henceforth they lived under the bridge. One day many Ts'Ets'a'ut 
 went up the river to see what had become of the brother and sister 
 who had been left. Among the travellers were the brothers of the 
 couple. When they approached the headwaters of the river, they 
 saw the natural bridge, and the caves which they had not seen 
 before. The kid was frolicking under the bridge, and every one of 
 its steps made a deep impression in the rock. It was scared when 
 it saw the people and jumped back into the cave in which it was 
 living. The people saw a glaring light coming forth from the cave. 
 Then the mother came out, to see what had frightened the kid. 
 She saw the people sitting on their knees, and wondering at the 
 marvellous changes that had taken place on the river. She went 
 back and told her husband what she had seen. He said : " Among 
 these people are our brothers who bound us. Let us kill them ! " 
 His wife did not reply. Then he stepped out of the cave, and when 
 he looked at the people they all died. One woman only had hidden 
 herself. She was saved. The natural bridge where these events 
 took place is called TsenC'niaga. 
 
 Then the husband and his wife separated. She went up the river. 
 When she arrived at its source, she made a rock resembling her in 
 shape. It may be seen up to this day. It looks like a woman 
 
Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 259 
 
 carrying a babe on her back. She went on to the headwaters of 
 Nass River, where she continues to live on the bank of a lake up to 
 this day. 
 
 The man went down the river, and wherever he camped he made 
 rocks of curious shape as marks of his presence. Now his name 
 was Qfi, the raven. The Tlingit call him Ycl. Among others he 
 made two rocks which look like men with arms. One of these has 
 fallen over, while the other one is still standing. Its name is SaqL 
 (the same in Tlingit). He wandered all through the world. Finally 
 he travelled westward. 
 
 At that time the sea was always high. In the middle of the world 
 he discovered a rock in the sea. lie built a house under the rock, 
 made a hole through the earth, and a lid which fitted it. He put a 
 man in charge of the hole, who opened the lid twice a day and twice 
 a day closed it. When the hole is open, the water rushes down 
 through it into the depth, and it is ebb ; when the lid is put on, the 
 water rises again, and it is flood. Tii'eL, a Tlingit chief, when hunt- 
 ing sea otters, was taken out to the rock by the tide. The current 
 was so strong that there was no possibility of escape. When he 
 was drawn towards the rock, he saw a few small trees growing on it. 
 He managed to throw his canoc-line over one of the trees and thus 
 succeeded in escaping from the whirlpool. After some time he 
 heard a noise which was produced by the closing of the hole. Then 
 the water began to rise, and he paddled away as fast as he could. 
 Before the ebb began, he pulled his canoe on to a rock, and when 
 the flood set in again continued his homeward journey. Finally he 
 reached his home in safety. 
 
 The preceding tale is related to two distinct Tlingit traditions : 
 The tale of the origin of the earthquake (sec Krause, " Die Tlingit 
 Indianer," p. 270), which tells of a brother and sister who fell in 
 love with one another and became supernatural beings, and the 
 Raven Legend, particularly the last part ; the origin of the tides is 
 taken bodily from the tales of Ycl and Qanuk (see Krause, /. c. p. 
 259, and Boas, " Sagen der Indianer der Nordpacifischen Kiiste 
 Amerikas," p. 313). 
 
 2. THE ORIGIN OF MOUNTAINS. 
 
 A woman had two sons. She died, and her sister took charge of 
 the boys. When they had grown up, they built their huts ne.xt to 
 that of their aunt. One day the latter saw that each of the young 
 men had a wife. She did not know whence they had come. I sup- 
 pose the women were animals who had taken the shape of men. 
 Once upon a time, tl e men went hunting. When going up the hill, 
 
26o 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lore. 
 
 they saw a large bag hanging from the branch of a tree. They cut 
 it open. A large man fell out of it, whom the men killed with 
 their clubs. He had an immense mcmbnivi virile, which they 
 cut off and took home. Then they chopped it, nii.xcd it with caribou 
 meat, and boiled it. The women had gone up the mountains to 
 bring home meat that their husbands had hidden in a cache. When 
 they came home, their husbands gave thcin of the dish they had 
 boiled. The women ate heartily. After a while the men took a 
 stomach of a caribou, left their home, and when they had gone a 
 short distance they shouted : " Our wives have eaten the mcuibrum 
 virile of their sweetheart." When the women heard this, they ran 
 to look after the bag in which the man had been hidden. When 
 they found the mutilated body, they took tlieir clubs and pursued 
 their husbands. When they drew near, the men threw part of the 
 contents of the caribou stomach over their shoulders. It was trans- 
 formed into valleys and cafions, which obstructed the progress of 
 the women. While fleeing fr.^n their wives, the men came to the 
 monster adEda, which looks like a bear with huge claws and horns. 
 They said : " Please, protect us. We are fleeing from our large 
 wives." The adnda asked them to stand behind it, but when the 
 women reached it they killed it with their clubs. The brothers ran 
 on, and continued to throw parts of the caribou stomach in the way 
 of the women. After some time they reached another horned 
 monster. They said : " Please, protect us ! We are fleeing from 
 our large wives." The monster replied : " I^idc behind my body." 
 Soon the women approached laughing. Ti ?y struck the monster 
 with their clubs between its horns, and they had almost killed it. 
 But finally it gave a jump, gored the women, aud threw them about 
 until they were dead. The head of the monster was full of blood, 
 which the brothers washed off. They returned home, but it took 
 them a long time to cross all the mountains and valleys that had 
 originated from the contents of the caribou stomach. 
 
 dil 
 of 
 
 3. THE ORIGIN OF THE SEASONS AND OF THE MOUNTAINS. 
 
 In the beginning there were no mountains. The earth was level, 
 and covered with grass and shrubs. There was no rain, no snow, 
 and no wind. The sun was shining all the time. Men and animals 
 were not distinct yet. They were in dire distre<=.5. They had little 
 to eat, and nothing to drink. Once upon a time a man made a bow 
 for his son, who was asleep. When the child awoke it cried for 
 thirst, but his father was unable to give him any water. He offered 
 his son grease to drink, but he refused it. Then the father gave him 
 the bow in order to quiet him, but the boy continued to cry. Now 
 the father took the bow, and shot the arrow into a small mound of 
 
They cut 
 illcd with 
 fiich they 
 h caribou 
 intains to 
 c. When 
 they had 
 ;n took a 
 d gone a 
 ncuibnim 
 they ran 
 . When 
 pursued 
 irt of the 
 'as trans- 
 )gress of 
 le to the 
 d horns, 
 ur large 
 'hen the 
 hers ran 
 the way 
 horned 
 ig from 
 ' body." 
 monster 
 illed it. 
 1 about 
 ■ blood, 
 it took 
 lat had 
 
 s level, 
 snow, 
 ninials 
 \ little 
 a bow 
 ied for 
 :)ffcred 
 /e him 
 Now 
 md of 
 
 Traditinns of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 261 
 
 dirt that was next to the fire. When the arrow entered it a spring 
 of water came forth, and the boy drank. From it sprang all the 
 rivers of the world. 
 
 Hut there was no rain and no snow. The animals held a council, 
 and considered how to procure them. They resolved to go to the 
 end of the world, to make a hole through the sky, and to climb up 
 through it. They did ;io. When they reached the end of the world 
 all thi animals tried to tear the sky, but they were unable to do so. 
 All had tried e.\cept two ermines. One of them jumped up, struck 
 the sky, and tore it. The other ran through the hole, and then all 
 the animals helped to enlarge it. They climbed up through it, but 
 when all had passed the hole closed again. They were on a large, 
 beautiful prairie, and walked on. After they had gone some time, 
 they saw a lodge in the far distance. They reached it and entered. 
 There were many bags in the house. One contained the rain, an- 
 other one the snow, a third one the fog, and still others the gales 
 and the four winds. The men sat down and debated what to do. 
 Only a woman was in the house. Her name was Xa txana (goose 
 woman). They said to her : " It is dry and hot on earth. We have 
 nothing to eat, and nothing to drink. Give us what we need, for 
 you are keeping it in your house." The goose woman replied : " All 
 that you need is in these bags : rain and snow, the winds, the gale, 
 and the fog. If you tear them, it will be winter. The North wind 
 will blow. It will be cold, and the ground will be covered with snow. 
 The 1 the snow will melt, the West wind will blow, and trees and 
 shruDs will bloom and bear fruit. Then another season of snows and 
 cold will follow." 
 
 Now the people tore the bags, and it happened as the woman had 
 predicted. Clouds began to gather, and snow was falling. At the 
 same time the level ground changed its form, and mountains arose. 
 
 Then the animals went back. Again the ermine tore the sky, 
 and all went down. Then the animals ran into the woods and sep- 
 arated from man. 
 
 See Petitot, " Traditions indiennes du Canada Nord-Ouest," p. 
 375. A legend of the Chippewayan, who tell of the heat, rain, gales, 
 and cold being kept in bags in the sky. 
 
 4. THE THUNDERBIRD. 
 
 Once upon a time a dog barked while it was thundering. This 
 frightened the thunderbird so badly that it fell down dead near a 
 village. The people went to see it, and observed that its skin was 
 similar in appearance to that of a frog. It carried three large bags, 
 one between its legs and one in each armpit. They were full of 
 water. Its view made the people sick. When the thunderbird 
 
262 
 
 Journal of American Folk- Lore, 
 
 opens its eyes, there is a flash of lightning. Its voice is the thun- 
 der. When it presses the bags it begins to rain. It is as large as a 
 house. 
 
 5. THE FLOOD. 
 
 Once upon a time a man, his wife, and his mother-in-law went up 
 the mountains to hunt marmots. When they had reached the higher 
 parts of a hill, they saw the waters rising. They climbed higher 
 and higher, but the waters rose steadily. All the people fled up the 
 mountains. Finally., when the water was about to reach them, they 
 resolved to inclose their children in hollow trees, hoping that there 
 they might be safe until the waters would retreat. They hol- 
 lowed out two trees, in one of which they placed the children of the 
 eagle clan, while in the other one they placed the children of the 
 wolf clan. They gave them an ample supply of food, and then 
 closed up the trees with wooden cjvcrs, which they caulked with 
 pitch. The water continued to rise, and all the people were drowned. 
 The children who were inclosed in the trees heard the waves break- 
 ing in the branches and felt the swaying of the trees. Finally, the 
 trees were entirely covered by water. After a few days the water 
 began to retreat. Again the trees were swaying. The children heard 
 the waves breaking, fir^t in the highest branches, then farther down, 
 and finally everything was quiet. They went to sleep, and when 
 they awoke one of the boys opened the hole. They saw that the 
 water had disappeared, but the branches were still dripping. The 
 ground was wet and soggy, and everything was covered with sea- 
 weeds. Then the children came forth from the trees, but the ground 
 was so wet that they were unable to start a fire, so that many died 
 of cold. Finally the ground dried up. They made a fire, which 
 they fed with their supplies of mountain-goat tallow. They married, 
 and became the ancestors of the Ts'Ets'a'ut. 
 
 6. THE ORIGIN OF THE FIRE. 
 
 The grizzly bear used the fire-stones (pyrites) as ear ornaments. 
 Therefore he was the only one to have fire. A small bird (ts'ox'e') 
 desired to have the fire, and flew to the house of the grizzly bear. 
 When the latter discovered him, he spoke to him : " Please, come 
 here and louse me." The bird complied with his request. He 
 alighted on the crown of his head, and began to pick off the lice. 
 In doing so he came nearer and nearer the ears of the bear. Finally 
 he bit through the thread from which the ear ornaments were sus- 
 pended, and took them away unobserved. Then he flew away. 
 When the grizzly bear noticed his loss he grew angry, extinguished 
 his fire, and tried to catch the bird. The latter teased him, saying : 
 " Henceforth you will live in the dark. You will not have any fire." 
 
 !%«.. 
 
Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 263 
 
 the thun- 
 largc as a 
 
 r went up 
 le higher 
 d higher 
 2cl up the 
 em, they 
 lat there 
 hey hol- 
 en of the 
 n of the 
 ind then 
 ced with 
 irowned. 
 -s break- 
 ally, the 
 lie water 
 en heard 
 IT down, 
 id when 
 hat the 
 The 
 ith sea- 
 ground 
 ny died 
 which 
 narried, 
 
 iments. 
 s ox e ) 
 i bear. 
 !, come 
 t. He 
 le lice, 
 ^'inally 
 ■e sus- 
 away. 
 uished 
 aying : 
 r fire." 
 
 The bear replied : " That docs not matter to me. I can scent my 
 food, but you will be unable to sec, and must obtain your food in 
 the daytime, when it is light. From now on it shall be dark." It 
 grew dark, but the bird remained sitting quietly on a tree until it 
 grew daylight again. Then it flew pU over the world. It dropped 
 here and there a fragment of the stones. Then it flew to the birds, 
 and gave them parts of the stones. Finall) it flow to where the 
 Ts'iits'a'ut were staying, and threw the stones down. Thoy were 
 tied together by twt)s. The people struck them, and caught the 
 sparks on tinder, and thus started the first fire. 
 
 • 
 
 7. THE MARMOT WOMAN. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a widower who had a son. He had 
 built his lodge near the upper end of a valley which abounded in 
 marmots. Iwcry day they went hunting, but he was unsuccessful. 
 It so happened that one day the boy caught a young marmot. He 
 did not kill it, but took it home. Its mother saw what had happened, 
 and followed the boy to his lodge. There she took off her skin, and 
 was at once transformed into a stout woman. She stepped up to 
 the entrance of the lodge, and said to the men : "Give me my child." 
 They were surprised, for they did not know who she was, but the 
 father invited her to enter. She said : " No, your lodge is not clean." 
 Then he arose, gathered some grass, which he spread on the floor 
 for her to sit on. She entered and sat down. The boy gave her 
 the young marmot, wliich she at once proceeded to suckle. Then 
 the woman asked for eagle's down. After she had received this, 
 she said to the hunter : " You are unsuccessful in hunting because 
 you are unclean. I will cleanse you." She wiped the inside of his 
 mouth and removed a vast quantity of phlegm. Now he was clean. 
 She became his wife. Before he again went out hunting she ordered 
 him to seek the solitude of the mountains, and to fast for three days. 
 He went, and on his return the woman gave him a small stick with 
 which to kill marmots. 
 
 The first day he went out hunting he saw numerous marmots, and 
 killed twenty. He carried them home, and his wife at once began 
 to skin and carve them. She hung up the meat to dry. While her 
 husband had been away, she had gathered a vast quantity of salmon 
 berries, and they lived on berries and on meat. On the following 
 day the man again went hunting, and killed fifty marmots. The 
 lodge was full of meat. 
 
 Often while he was out hunting he noticed that one marmot was 
 following him all the time. It was tame, and played around him. 
 Therefore he did not kill it. One day, however, when there were no 
 other marmots to be seen, he killed it and carried it home. When 
 
t64 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lorc. 
 
 his wife opened the poucli and pulled out the game, she began to 
 cry and to wiil : " You have killed my brother ! you have killed my 
 brother ! " She put down the body, and laid all the other marmots 
 that her husband had procured around it. Then she sang : " Brother, 
 arise!" [qoxde knse kluk ! This is said to be Tlingit). When she 
 had sung a little while, the body began to move. The dried meat 
 began to assume shape. She threw on it the skins, and all the 
 marmots returned to life and ran up the hills. 
 
 She followed them, crying. Her husband was frightened, but 
 followed her, accompanied by his son. After they had gone some 
 distance, they saw her disappearing in a fissure of the rocks, which 
 opened and let her in. When they reached the fissui c, the father 
 told his son to stay outsiae while he himself tried to enter. The 
 fissure opened, and on entering he found himself in a lodge. I^i'- 
 brother-in-law had taken off his skin, which was hanging from the 
 roof. He was sitting in the rear of the lodge. The women were 
 seated in the middle of the floor, and were weaving baskets and hats. 
 The chief spoke : " Spread a mat for my brother-in-law." The 
 people obeyed, and he sat down next to his wife. The chief ordered 
 to be brought a clo:. of marmot skins. When he put it on, he was 
 transformed into a marmot. He was given a hole to live in, and a 
 rock on which he was to sit and whistle as the marmots are in the 
 habit of doing. The son saw all that had happened, and returned 
 home in great distress. 
 
 Two years after these events, the brothers of the man who had 
 been transformed into a marmot went hunting. They pitched their 
 camp at the same place where their brother had lived. After hav- 
 ing cleaned their bodies and fasted for four days, they set their 
 traps. They were very successful. One day one of the brothers 
 saw a marmot jumping into a crack of the rocks. He set his trap at 
 the entrance of the fissure, and when he came back in the evening 
 he found the animal in his trap. He put it into his pouch with the 
 rest of his game, and went home. His wife began to skin the mar- 
 mots, and to dress the meat. She took up this particular animal last. 
 When she cut the skin around the forepawsshe saw a bracelet under 
 the skin, and her nephew, who was staying with them, recognized it 
 as that of his father. Then she put the animal aside. At midnight 
 it threw off its skin, and resumed the shape of a man. On the fol- 
 lowing morning they recognized their brother ivho had been lost for 
 two years. He told them of all that had happened since the lime 
 when he had left his son at the fissure of the rock, how he had be- 
 come a marmot, and how he had lived as one of their race. 
 
 mi 
 mj 
 vai 
 
 eli 
 
Traditions of the Tseisaut. 
 
 265 
 
 8. THE Cl.OUI) WOMAN. 
 
 Two brothers, with their mother, went up the mountains to hunt 
 marmots. 'Ihcy built a lodge, ami the younger brother and the 
 mother stayed at home while the ckler one went into a nei^^hboiing 
 valley to hunt. While the younger brother was very successful, the 
 elder one was almost starving. (3ne day, however, a cloud came to 
 his lo.lgc and mar'ied him b'rom ci. time on he caught great num- 
 bers of marmots. After some time lie went to visit his mother. 
 He brought her two marmots. It was clear weather, and his mother 
 noticed with surprise that at thi ' me 01 his arrival he was quite'wct. 
 On the following morning h(< again dc pnned, and stayed away for a 
 long time, so thac Ms mother and b'olih.r b«>gan to worry about him. 
 Finally his younger brother started to look for him. He crossed 
 the mountain, and reached a beautiful v.dley. At some distance he 
 discovered a lodge. He thought: "This mwiA be my brother's 
 lodge," and went down to it. When he had reached it he en- 
 tered, but did not see a soul. The lodge was built of bark. It was 
 full of meat. Now he heard somebody laughing and speaking, but 
 he did not understand what was said. He h)oked around everywhere, 
 but he did not sec any one. Finally he discovered a small cloud of 
 mist which was moving about in the house. He entered and sat 
 down. He saw the mist moving towards a small basket, which was 
 then taken to a large basket and filled with berries. Then the 
 mist moved to a spit, which was lying near the fire. It was lifted, 
 covered with a slice of meat, and put close to the fire. When the 
 meat was done, the mist enveloped a dish and a knife, and moved to 
 the spit. Then the meat was put into the dish, and the mist carried 
 it to the young man, who began to eat. When' he had finished, the 
 mist brought a basket filled with water, and the young man drank. 
 Next came a dish filled with salmon berries mixed with bear grease. 
 The mist enveloped a spoon, which began to stir the mixture, and 
 then stayed in front of the young man. While he was still eating, 
 his elder brother entered the lodge. Again he heard the laughing 
 of women. The young man said ; " Roth mother and myself thought 
 you were dead, and I came to search for you." Th»n the mist gave 
 to the elder brother a basket filled with berries, and left the house. 
 It reappeared, carrying a basket filled with water. It took up the 
 elder brother's pouch. It opened, and marmots fell out of it. Then 
 the mist lay over the marmots, and the young man saw that they 
 were being skinned and dressed. Soon the mist left the lodge, car- 
 rying the skins. The elder brother spoke r "That cloud of mist is 
 my wife. Do not ever mention the word 'cloud ' in her presence, 
 else she will leave me." 
 
266 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lorc. 
 
 II 
 
 In the evening the elder brother gave a skin blanket to his 
 visitor and they went to sleep. The mist settled at the side of the 
 elder brother. On the following morning, after they had taken 
 breakfast, the young man prepared to return to his mother. He 
 was going to tell her that his lost brother had been found, and to 
 i., .ite her to come and stay with him. He started, and when he 
 had reached his lodge he told his mother that her eldest son had 
 married a cloud, and that he desired them to stay with him. The 
 old woman packed her belongings and they started to cross the 
 mr^untains. When they approached the lodge, the cloud woman 
 was engaged in drying marmot skins. When the young man, who 
 had gone in advance, reached the house, his elder brother sent his 
 wife to meet his mother, and to help her carry her load. Swiftly 
 the cloud moved up to the old woman, and flew around her, emitting 
 a hissing noise, which frightened the woman. Then the cloud re- 
 turned to the lodge. Her husband asked : " Did you bring the 
 load .'' " She replied : " Your mother declined to give it to me." 
 Then the man sent her back, and asked her to take the load. She 
 obeyed. When she reached the old woman, she found her resting 
 her load on a rock. She took it from her back, and carried it home. 
 Before the old woman had been able to reach the lodge, the cloud 
 had left again to pick berries. Soon she returned. She put stones 
 into the fire and boiled meat for her guests. 
 
 The man's mother and brother continued to live with them. 
 After some time, they saw the toes and the fingers of a woman pro- 
 truding from the cloud of mist. Gradually arms and legs and the 
 body began to appear, and finally they were able to see her face. 
 She was very beautiful. One morning when they awoke the last 
 trace of the mist had disappeared, and they saw a beautiful woman 
 in its place. The younger brother said to her : " Why did you never 
 speak to me .' " She replied : " I spoke to you, but you did not 
 understand i^'^e." 
 
 She was with child, and after some time she gave birth to a boy. 
 He had red hair. And after some time she gave birth to a girl. 
 The children grew up. 
 
 One day, while the brothers were out hunting, the children were 
 playing in front of the lodge. Their mother was putting on her 
 moccasins, preparing to pick berries in the woods. Then the boy 
 said: "O mother! see the cloud on that mountain." A*: once the 
 woman began to vanish, she took her daughter in her arms, a hissing 
 sound was heard, the house burst, and she was transformed into 
 a cloud. The grandmother held the little boy in her arms, while 
 the cloud carried away the girl. The mountains were covered with 
 clouds, and it began to rain in torrents. The brothers heard the 
 

 Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 267 
 
 et to his 
 
 iide of the 
 had taken 
 thcr. He 
 nd, and to 
 1 when he 
 t son had 
 lim. The 
 
 cross the 
 id woman 
 
 man, who 
 r sent his 
 . Swiftly 
 •, emitting 
 
 cloud re- 
 bring the 
 t to me." 
 oad. She 
 cr resting 
 d it home. 
 
 the cloud 
 Dut stones 
 
 ith them. 
 :)man pro- 
 ;s and the 
 her face. 
 ? the last 
 ul woman 
 you never 
 \ did not 
 
 to a boy. 
 to a girl. 
 
 rcn were 
 % on her 
 1 the boy 
 once the 
 a hissing 
 Tied into 
 ns, while 
 red with 
 card the 
 
 cries of the girl in the clouds and saw her being wafted from place 
 to place. The "cloud woman" was not seen any more. Later 
 on the elder brother was lost while hunting. I suppose his wife 
 took him with her. 
 
 For a similar legend see Petitot, /. c. p. 1 20, Legends of the Hare 
 Indians. 
 
 THE VISIT TO THE SKY. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a man who had a large family. One 
 morning his wife and children, upon awaking, were unable to find 
 him. He had disappeared. 
 
 When he awoke he found himself in a strange lodge among 
 strange people. The house stood on a vast open prairie. A young 
 girl was lying at his side. It was very beautiful there. Now he 
 heard the chief speaking. He looked around, but he did not see a 
 soul. The girl said to him: "You are in the sky. My father is 
 going to make you clean and strong." Then he heard the chief say- 
 ing : " Build a large fire and put stones on top of it." A giant arose, 
 who built a fire and put on stones. After a while the chief asked : 
 "Are the stones red hot.'" The giant replied: " They are hot." 
 Then the wood was taken away, the red hot stones were piled up, 
 and, after the man had been placed on top, a blanket was spread 
 over him. Then the ashes were placed on top of the blanket, and a 
 new fire wa.. built over the whole pile. This was kept burning for 
 a whole day. In the evening the chief said to the giant : " I think 
 he is done." The fire and the ashes were removed, and the man 
 was found to be red hot, but not steamed. He was taken from the 
 pile of stones with wooden tongs and placed on a plank, which was 
 supported at each end. 
 
 The girl was crying all day, because she believed him dead. 
 Early the next morning the chief sent the giant to see if the visitor 
 was still alive. He lifted the blanket which had been spread over 
 the red hot body. Then the plank, which had been burned by con- 
 tact with the body of the stranger, gave way, and he fell down. But 
 he a-ose at once hale and well. Then the chief had a mat spread 
 fpr him in the rear of the house and said : " I burned you in order to 
 make your body as hard as stone. Sit down with my daughter. She 
 shall be your wife." He married her, and the young woman was 
 glad. The chief said : " If you so desire, you may take her down to 
 the earth. She shall see what the people are doing." The chief's 
 lodge was full of many kinds of food, which, however, were not 
 known to the visitor. 
 
 When they prepared to descend to the earth, the chief gave his 
 daughter a pot and a black tube, through which she drank of the 
 liquid contained in the pot. Nobody except herself was allowed to 
 
268 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lore. 
 
 use these, and she herself did not partake of any other kind of food. 
 The chief ordered the giant to open the road that led to the earth. 
 He opened a hole in the ground, took the rainbow at its one end, 
 and placed the other end on the earth. Before they parted the chief 
 forbade the man ever to tell where he had been and what he had 
 seen and to talk to any woman except his present wife. 
 • They departed, and reached the earth not far away from the vil- 
 lage where the man had formerly lived. He did not recognize the 
 country, but his wife showed him the way and told him that they 
 would reach the village in the evening. When they approached the 
 camp the people recognized him. All assembled and asked him 
 where he came from. He told them that he had been in the sky, 
 and that his new wife was a daughter of the chief of the sky. He 
 was invited to return to his former wife and to his children, but he 
 did not go. He built a lodge outside tlie camp. He took a girl 
 into his lodge to be a servant to his wife. Every day he himself 
 had to fetch water for his wife in the pot which her father had given 
 to her. This she drank through her tube. The latter had the 
 property of swimming on the water as long as her husband was true 
 to her. It went down when he had spoken to any other woman but 
 her. 
 
 One day when he returned bringing the water his young wife 
 asked him if he vv^ould like to talk to his former wife. He did not 
 reply, thus intimating that he did not care for her. But when the 
 young woman placed the tube into the water it sank. She knew at 
 once that her husband had spoken to his former wife. Then she 
 said : " I came to take pity on you and on your friends ; but since 
 you do not obey my father's commands I must go back." She wept, 
 and embracing her servant she said : " Hide in the woods under the 
 roots of a large tree where the rays of the sun will not strike you, 
 else you will perish with all the rest of the people." The girl did 
 as she was bidden. Then the rainbow appeared. She climbed up 
 and disappeared from view. 
 
 On the following day the man went hunting. Then the sun 
 began to shine hotter and hotter. There was no cloud in the sky.» 
 The camp grew quiet, even the dogs ceased to howl. The rays of 
 the sun had burned the whole camp. Only the man and the servant 
 girl had escaped destruction The man, when the sun was shining 
 so fiercely, had cooled himself with the snow and the water of the 
 mountains, while the servant girl was protected by the roots of the 
 tree. When the sun set the fire went out and ♦^he girl returned 
 to her friends, to whom she told what had happened. Nobody 
 knows about the further fate of the man. 
 
 Frane Boas. 
 
 mX 
 
.") CL^C 
 
 i 
 
 id of food, 
 the earth, 
 one end, 
 1 the chief 
 at he had 
 
 Ti the vil- 
 )gnize the 
 that they 
 ached the 
 sked him 
 1 the sky, 
 sky. He 
 :n, but he 
 ook a girl 
 e himself 
 had given 
 had the 
 
 1 was true 
 Oman but 
 
 •ung wife 
 
 2 did not 
 when the 
 I knew at 
 rhen she 
 but since 
 5he wept, 
 jnder the 
 rike you, 
 : girl did 
 mbed up 
 
 the sun 
 the sky., 
 e rays of 
 e servant 
 s shining 
 or of the 
 ts of the 
 returned 
 Nobody 
 
 f Boas. 
 
 ^ * ' Traditions of the Tsctsaut. 35 
 
 TRADITIONS OF THE TS'ETS'A'UT. 
 
 m 
 
 10. THE GREAT SNOWFALL. 
 
 Gn'ce upon a time a number of families of the wolf clan and of 
 the eagle clan lived in a village at Sqamgo'ns, in Portland Channel. 
 Near by there was a village of grizzly bear mcn.^ They attacked the 
 village, and killed everybody with the exception of one boy and one 
 girl of each of the two clans. They were crying all the time when 
 they saw their relatives killed. Then one of the grizzly bear men 
 went to their hut, and threatened to kill them if they should not 
 stop crying. But one of the boys took his bow and arrow and shot 
 the man in the chest, thus killing him. After this had happened, 
 they dug a deep ditch in their hut, and buried all their relatives who 
 had been killed. 
 
 They left the place of these misfortunes and went down the 
 mountains. After some time they reached a house, in which they 
 found an old, old man who had been left by his friends to die alone. 
 He said to them : " Stay here until I die, my grandchildren, and 
 bury me when I am dead." They stayed, and he asked them why 
 they had left their country. When they had told him, he asked 
 them to return, because salmon were nowhere as plentiful as in the 
 river on which their house had stood. He also warned them, say- 
 ing : " The sky is full of feathers. Take good care to provide your- 
 self with plenty of meat, and build a strong house." He was a 
 great shaman, and was able to foresee the future. 
 
 After two days he died. The young people buried him. Then 
 they started to return to their home in obedience to what the sha- 
 man had told them. They followed a river, and when they were 
 near its source they saw an immense herd of mountain goats coming 
 down towards them. They did not stop to shoot them, but ran right 
 up to them and dispatched them, cutting their throats with their 
 knives. Then they went back to the camp in which they had left 
 the girls, taking along only a kid that they had killed. They threw 
 some of its meat and tallow into the fire, as a sacrifice to the dead 
 shaman who had directed them to return home. On the following 
 day they moved their camp to a hill which was located in the midst 
 of three lakes. There they built a strong hut as directed by the sha- 
 man. The two girls went out to fetch the meat of the mountnin goats. 
 V/hile they were drying it, the boys strengthened the poles of the 
 
 ' These were men. It is not quite clear if they were men of ii grizzly bear 
 clan, or if the story happened at the time when all animals were still men. 
 
 Si 
 
 f 
 
T 
 
 jft y ournal of American Folk-Lore. /\ . ' ^ j f ■ 
 
 house, joined them with stout thongs, and thus prepared for a heavy 
 snowfall. They put the meat into the house. On the following 
 day the snow began to fall. They lived on the meat of the moun- 
 tain goats, but they sacrificed as much to the dead shaman as they 
 ate. It continued to snow for two months. They could not go out 
 to gather wood for their fire, but they had to burn the bones and 
 the tallow of the goats. The smoke kept a hole open in the roof of 
 their hut ; and, when looking up, they could see no more than a very 
 small speck of light. But after two months they saw the blue sky 
 through this hole. The sun was shining again. Then they dug a 
 hole towards the surface of the snow and came out. Nothing but 
 snow was to be seen. The rocks of the mountains and the trees 
 were all covered. Gradually the snow began to melt a little, and 
 the tops of the trees reappeared. One day they saw a bear near 
 the top of a tree. When they approached, it crawled back to its 
 lair at the foot of the tree. Now they started on their way to 
 their old home. After a long and difficult march, they reached it 
 just at the time when the olachen were coming. They caught a 
 plentiful supply and were well provided with provisions. In sum- 
 mer there were salmon in the river. They caught them and dried 
 and split them. They married and had many children. They were 
 the only people who were saved from the heavy snov/, and from 
 them descended the present generations of people. They multiplied 
 very rapidly, for they married very young, as dogs do. At the end 
 of the first summer, only a small part of the snow had melted. A 
 few rocks appeared in the mountains, but in the fall new snow began 
 to fall. In the spring of the following year it began to melt again. 
 The trees were gradually freed from snow, but some of it has ■..>.. .♦ys 
 remained on the mountains, where it forms the glaciers. 
 
 The two couples who had been saved from the snow grew to be 
 very old. Their hair was white, and they were bent with old age. 
 One day the young men climbed the mountains to hunt mountain 
 goat. One of the old men accompanied them, but he was left be- 
 hind, as he could not walk as fast as the young men did. When he 
 had reached a meadow high up the side of the mountain he heard a 
 voice from the interior of the rocks saying : " Here is the man who 
 killed all our friends." When he looked up he saw a number of 
 mountain goats above. He did not know how to reach them, since 
 his legs were weak. He took two sticks and tied one to each of 
 his legs in order to steady and to strengthen them. Thus he was 
 enabled to climb. He reached the mountain goats and cut their 
 necks. He killed thirty. Among these was a kid. He took out 
 its tallow and put it on his head ; he cut off its head and took it 
 under his arm to carry it home. He had stayed away so long that 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 li 
 
 X 
 
for a heavy 
 e following 
 
 the moun- 
 lan as they 
 
 not go out 
 : bones and 
 
 the roof of 
 than a very 
 le blue sky 
 
 they dug a 
 soothing but 
 d the trees 
 a little, and 
 1 bear near 
 back to its 
 leir way to 
 
 reached it 
 y caught a 
 . In sum- 
 1 and dried 
 They were 
 ', and from 
 ^ multiplied 
 'Vt the end 
 iielted. A 
 snow began 
 melt again, 
 has :..i. ^ys 
 
 ;re\v to be 
 
 ;h old age. 
 
 t mountain 
 
 'as left be- 
 When he 
 
 he heard a 
 
 ! man who 
 
 number of 
 
 hem, since 
 
 to each of 
 
 us he was I 
 cut their 
 
 e took out 
 
 nd took it 
 
 ) long that 
 
 Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 his friends had given him up for lost. He told them of his adven- 
 ture. He roasted the kid's head and ate it. On the following 
 morning he was dead. 
 
 II. THE CHILDREN OF THE DOG. 
 
 Once upon a time there was a woman who went every night 
 hunting porcupines. During the daytime she hunted marmots. 
 While out on the mountains she built a shelter of branches. One 
 night, when she had gone to sleep, a young man entered her hut. 
 He looked just like her lover, and she thought he had followed her. 
 In the morning she boiled some of the porcupine meat and both 
 partook of it, and in the evening the young man went out to hunt 
 porcupines. As soon as he had left the hut, he put on his blanket 
 and appeared in his true shape. He was one of the dogs of the 
 village. He crawled into the dens of the porcupines and caught a 
 great number. Then he took off his blanket and reappeared in the 
 shape of a man. For three nights he stayed with the woman. 
 During the daytime he went hunting marmots, and he never went 
 out without bringing back a vast amount of game. Then he ate of 
 the food that the woman had cooked and they went to bed. In the 
 third night he arose about midnight. He had assumed his true 
 shape, and ate the meat and gnawed the bones of the marmots and 
 of the porcupines. The woman awoke by the noise and saw a large 
 dog eating their provisions. She turned to the man, intending to 
 awake him, but there was nobody to be seen. Then she took a 
 club and killed the dog. Early in the morning she made a bundle 
 of the remaining dried meat and returned to her village. She did 
 not tell any one ot what had happened. But soon she felt that she 
 was with child, and when this came to be known nobody knew who 
 had been her lover. After two months she was about to be con- 
 fined. The women of the village assembled to assist her, but what 
 was their terror when she gave birth first to two male dogs, then to 
 a female dog ! They all fled, even her mother. Only her brother's 
 sister remained with her. The women told the people what had 
 happened, and all the inhabitants of the village resolved to desert 
 her. They packed their belongings and left the place. Only the 
 young woman and her pups remained. 
 
 They grew up rapidly. Every day their mother went gathering 
 food for them. As soon as she left the hut, the pups took off their 
 skins, and played about in the shape of children. They had nice, 
 light skins. When they saw their mother approaching, they put 
 on their skins, resumed the shape of dogs, and lay in the ashes 
 of the fireplace. One day their mother did not go very far. 
 She heard voices of children near her hut. They seemed to be 
 
i 
 
 yo2irnal of American Folk-Lorc. 
 
 playing and singing. Cautiously she approached the hut, walking 
 noiselessly over the snow ; but the children had seen her coming, 
 and put on their blankets before she was able to come near. On 
 the following day she went up the mountains, and there she pushed 
 her staff into the ground and hung her blanket of marmot skins over 
 it. Again she approached the hut cautiously. When she came 
 near, she saw two boys and one girl playing around. The latter 
 went to look from time to time, and returned on seeing the staff 
 that was covered with the blanket. She said to her brothers : 
 " Mother is still out gathering wood." Then the mother jumped 
 into the hut. On one side of the fireplace were two dog-skins; 
 on the other there was one. She took the first two, and threw 
 them into the fire. Before she was able to take the last, the girl 
 had run into the house, put it on, and was transformed into a dog. 
 Then the boys sat down in a corner of the house, crying for their 
 skins. Their mother gave them blankets made of marmot skins. 
 She made garments and snow-shoes, bows and arrows, and the boys 
 began hunting squirrels. When they came to be larger they hunted 
 larger animals, and the bitch accompanied them. She was a very 
 good hunter. They had such a vast supply of game that they did 
 not know what to do with it. Their house was quite filled with 
 supplies. 
 
 The people, however, who had left the woman were unsuccessful 
 in hunting, and were almost starving. They returned to their old 
 hunting-ground, and were surprised to find the woman still alive, 
 and to sec the two young men. 
 
 One day the two hunters went out to hunt mountain goats. 
 Their dog accompanied them. Then a goat attacked the dog, gored 
 it, and threw it down the side of the mountain. 
 
 Later on the two young men married women of the tribe. Once 
 upon a time they went hunting, accompanied by seven men. They 
 hunted mountain goats near the sources of Tcunaq River. They 
 killed a whole herd. Only one kid escaped by climbing a high, 
 precipitous rock. There it stood, crying pitifully. The men of the 
 party wanted to return, but the two brothers were so eager to kill 
 the poor kid that they began the dangerous ascent of the steep 
 rock. They had no pity. Then the rock began to grow and carried 
 them up so high that there was no possibility of return. They 
 succeeded in reaching a- cleft. There they sat close together warm- 
 ing each other, but after three days one of the brothers died. On 
 the following day the men of the tribe went to the cliff and shouted 
 to the brothers, but there was no reply. The other one had died 
 also. When they turnr'd away to rejoin their tribe, on looking at 
 the rock they saw blood flowing down from the place where the 
 
 1 
 
hut, walking 
 her coming, 
 e near. On 
 ; she pushed 
 3t skins ov(?r 
 n she came 
 The latter 
 ng the staff 
 :r brothers : 
 her jumped 
 » dog-skins; 
 •, and threw 
 ast, the girl 
 into a dog. 
 ig for their 
 rmot skins, 
 nd the boys 
 hey hunted 
 
 was a very 
 at they did 
 
 filled with 
 
 nsucccssful 
 
 o their old 
 
 still alive, 
 
 ;ain goats, 
 dog, gored 
 
 ibe. Once 
 en. They 
 ^er. They 
 ig a high, 
 nen of the 
 ?er to kill 
 
 the steep 
 md carried 
 rn. They 
 her warm- 
 died. On 
 d shouted 
 
 had died 
 ooking at 
 vhere the 
 
 i 
 
 i 
 
 1 
 i 
 
 Traditions of the Tsctsaut. 39 
 
 brothers had died, and also from the retreat of the kid. The blood 
 may be seen on the rock up to this day. 
 
 Note. — This tale is very widely spread over North America. It 
 has been recorded all along the Pacific coast from Columbia River to 
 Alaska (see Krause, "Die Tlinkit Indianer," p. 269; V. ]ioas, " In- 
 dianische Sagen von der Nord-1'acifischen Kiiste Amerikas," pp. 25, 
 93, 114, 132, 263, 269). From the Mackenzie Basin it is known 
 through a version recorded by E. Petitot (" Traditions du Canada 
 Nord-Ouest," p. 311, a tradition of the Dog-rib Indians; p. 314, a 
 tradition of the Hare Indians). There is little doubt that here also 
 belongs the similar tradition of the Eskimo recorded by Rink 
 ("Talcs and Traditions of the Eskimo," p. 471) ; Boas ("The Cen- 
 tral Eskimo," p. 630); by Murdoch ("American Naturalist," 1886, 
 p. 594) ; and also by Boas from Port Clarence (" Journ. Am. Folk- 
 Lore," vol. vii. p. 207). 
 
 12. THE STARS. 
 
 There were two sisters who were playing in front of their house. 
 They made a small hut and lay down in it to sleep. During the night 
 they awoke, and saw the stars in the sky. One of the sisters said : 
 "Do you see that white star.' I will have him for my husband. 
 You take that red star." They joked and laughed on this proposi- 
 tion, and finally went to sleep again. While they were sleeping 
 two men entered their hut. One of them wore a white blanket, the 
 other wore a red blanket. The latter married the elder sister, 
 while the former took the younger for his wife. They removed 
 them from the house into the sky. They were the two stars of 
 whom the girls had been speaking. When the sisters awoke and 
 saw the strange men by their sides, they did not know where they 
 were. 
 
 On the following morning their mother called them to come to 
 breakfast. When she did not receive an answer, she grew angry 
 and went to call the girls. Then she saw that they had disappeared. 
 During the night a boy had heard how the girls had been talking 
 about the stars, and thus the people were led to suppose that the 
 stars had abducted the girls. The stars go out every night with 
 bow and arrows hunting cariboos. Then they look through the 
 holes in the sky and see what is going on on earth. 
 
 The two stars who had married the girls also went out every 
 night, and brought home many cariboos. The young women 
 skinned and carved them. They made gloves, shoes, and dresses 
 from the skins. They cut long thongs from the skins of others, 
 cutting spirally around their bodies. They hid the clothing and 
 
 ^^r^, 
 
40 
 
 Journal of American Folk-Lore. 
 
 I 
 
 1 
 
 the thongs carefully from their husbands. There was no water, 
 no cloud, and no rain in the sky, and they wore always suffering 
 thirst. They had nothing to eat but meat. Therefore they longed 
 to return to their own country. When they had prepared a suf- 
 ficient number of thongs and of cloths they made ready to escape. 
 One day, when their husbands had started on a long hunting expedi- 
 tion, they went to the hole in the sky. They tied stones to one end 
 of a thong and let it down towards the earth. When one thong was 
 paid out they tied a new one to the end of the first, and thus they 
 continued from morning to night. The one woman brought the 
 cloths ana the thongs from their hiding-place, while the other let 
 them down. Finally, after four days, they felt the rope striking the 
 ground. They could not see the earth because it was hidilcn by 
 smoke. They shook the thong and it fell a little farther, but finally 
 it seemed to have reached the ground. At least they felt that it 
 was held by something. Now they tied two pairs of sticks together, 
 one being on each side of the rope. They put on four suits of 
 clothing, four pairs of shoes, and four pairs of gloves. The elder 
 sister stepped on one pair of sticks and they began to glide down, 
 the sticks acting as a brake. The rope swung to and fro, and the 
 sister who had remained behind gradually lost sight of her. Finally 
 the young woman reached the end of the rope and found herself on 
 the top of a tall tree. Her clothing and her gloves were almost 
 worn through by friction. Then she shook the rope, and upon this 
 signal her sister began to slide down in the same manner. She 
 came down very much quicker, because her sister was holding the 
 end of the rope. Looking upward, she beheld a small dot in the 
 air. It was coming nearer and increased in size. Soon she recog- 
 nized her sister, who finally reached the top of the tree. There 
 they were on the top of a tall spruce-tree, and there was no way of 
 getting down. They broke off some branches, and made a bed in 
 the tree. The elder sister, before starting, had tied an additional 
 piece of thong around her waist, thinking that she might use it in 
 case the long rope should not have reached the ground. She un- 
 tied it, and fastened it on to the long rope, but still it was not long 
 enough. 
 
 After a while, the young women saw a number of men passing 
 the foot of the tree. They were armed with bows and arrows, and 
 were on snowshoes. They recognized the wolf, the bear, and many 
 other animals. They called to them, asking them to help them 
 down, but they passed by without paying attention to their entreat- 
 ies. The next morning they saw another man approaching the tree. 
 They recognized the fisher. They called him, and he at once climbed 
 the tree. The young women asked him to carry them down, but he 
 
 ■HS 
 
 WW 
 
Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 41 
 
 no water, 
 suffering 
 ey longed 
 red a suf- 
 to escape. 
 [ng expcdi- 
 o one end 
 thong was 
 thus they 
 ought the 
 other let 
 liking the 
 Iiiddcn by 
 but finally 
 elt that it 
 s together, 
 ir suits of 
 The elder 
 ide down, 
 o, and the 
 r. Finally 
 herself on 
 ere almost 
 1 upon this 
 nner. She 
 lolding the 
 dot in the 
 she rec og- 
 ee. There 
 3 no way of 
 e a bed in 
 additional 
 t use it in 
 She un- 
 s not long 
 
 en passing 
 .rrows, and 
 , and many 
 help them 
 ir entreat- 
 g the tree, 
 ce climbed 
 wn, but he 
 
 demanded that they should first marry him. The elder one said : 
 " I will do so, but first carry me down." The fisher finally agreed 
 and carried her down. When they arrived at the foot of the tree, 
 she demanded from him that he should first carry down her youngest 
 sister. Reluctantly he was compelled to do so. Then he demanded 
 from the youngest sister that she should marry him. She said : " I 
 will do so, but carry me down first." He took her down. When he 
 insisted upon his former demand, the elder sister said : " We are 
 almost starved ; first bring us some food." He went away and soon 
 returned, carrying a bear that he had killed. During his absenci 
 the young women had lighted a fire. He wanted to roast the bear 
 meat, but they said they wished to eat it boiled. Then the fisher 
 made a basket of bark, and placed stones into the fire, which he 
 intended to use to boil water in the basket. Meanwhile the young 
 women had hidden a few pieces of meat under their blankets, and 
 now they pretended to go to fetch water in which to boil the meat. 
 As soon as they were out of sight they ran away down the moun- 
 tains. After a while the eldest sister flung a piece of meat at a 
 tree, asking it to whistle. They went on, and again she threw a 
 piece of meat at a tree, asking it to talk. In this manner she con- 
 tinued to give meat to all the trees. 
 
 WHien the young women did not return, the fisher followed them 
 to the brook, where they had gone to fetch wciter. He discovered 
 their tracks, and saw that they had escaped. He pursued them. 
 Soon he came to the tree which they had asked to whistle. It did 
 so when the fisher went past. Then he thought they were on the 
 tree, climbed it, and searched for them. When he did not find 
 them, he continued his pursuit. He came to the second tree, which 
 spoke when he went past. Again he thought the young women 
 might be on the tree. He climbed up, but did not find them. Thus 
 he lost so much time that they made good their escape. 
 
 Towards evening they reached a deep cafion. They walked along 
 its edge, and soon they were discovered by the grizzly bear, v/ho was 
 residing here. He wanted to marry them, and they did not dare to re- 
 fuse. But they said : " First go and bring us something to eat. We 
 are almost starving." While the bear was away hunting, the girls built 
 a platform over the steep precipice of the canon. It overhung the 
 abyss, and was held in place by two ropes which were tied to a tree 
 that grew near the edges of the canon. Its outer edge was supported 
 by two slanting poles which leaned against a ledge a short distance 
 down the precipice. When the bear came back, he found them 
 apparently asleep on this platform. He did not bring any meat ; he 
 had only roots and berries. The young women said that they could 
 not eat that kind of food, and demanded that he should go hunting 
 
 23f{|r,8 
 
# 
 
 yournal of American Folk-Lorc. 
 
 I 
 
 
 ai^^ain. It had ^Town dark, however, and the bear proposed to go 
 out on the following morning. They lay down on the platform, and 
 the young women indueed the bear to lie near the edge, while they 
 lay down near the tree to which the platform was tied. They kept 
 away from the bear, promising to marry him after he should have 
 obtained food for them. ICarly in the moiping, when the grizzly 
 bear was fast asleep, they arose without disturbing him, cut the ties 
 with Which the platform was fastened to the tree, and it tipped over, 
 casting the bear into the abyss. 
 
 The young women travelled on, and for a whole month they did 
 not fall in with a soul. Then, one day, they discovered tracks of 
 snowshoes, and soon they found the hut of a woman who had given 
 birth to a child. They entered, and recognized one of their friends. 
 They stayed with her for a short time, and when the young mother 
 was ready to return to the village, they sent her on in order to in- 
 form their relatives of their return. She went to the mother of the 
 two lost girls, and told her that they were waiting in the woods, but 
 she would not believe the news. The young mother returned to her 
 friends and told them that their mother would not believe that they 
 had come back. Then they gave her as a token a skin hat that was 
 decorated with stars. She took it to the village and showed it to the 
 mother of the two young women. Then she began to think that 
 there might be some truth in the report, and went out to look. 
 There she saw and recognized her daughters. At that time all the 
 men were out hunting. The women on hearing of the return of the 
 two lost girls went out to see them, and they told of their adven- 
 tures. Then they climbed two trees, tied their skin belts to the 
 branches, and hanged themselves. 
 
 Note. — The distribution of this legend over North America is 
 very remarkable. It has its closest analogue in a tradition of the Mic- 
 mac of Nova Scotia (Rand, "Legends of the Micmac," pp. i6o, 308). 
 The two tales are almost identical up to the passage of the escape 
 of the two girls from the animal that rescued them from the tree. 
 The first part of the tradition, so far as the descent of the young 
 women to the earth, is found among the Songish of southern Van- 
 couver Island (Boas, /. c. p. C2). The same portion of the tale, 
 although in a different combination, is found among the Dacota 
 (Riggs, " Dacota Grammar, Texts, and Ethnography," Contributions 
 to North American Ethnology, vol. ix. p. 90), the Otoe ("Jour. Am. 
 Folk-Lore," 1893, p. 299, recorded by G. T. Kercheval), the Pawnee 
 (Ibid. 1894, p. 197, recorded by G. V,. Grinnell), and the Kiowa, 
 among whom it was recorded by A. S. Gatschet. 
 
 i 
 
Jscd to go 
 
 Itlorm, and 
 
 Ivhilo they 
 
 iTlicy kept 
 
 pould have 
 
 he grizzly 
 
 Jut the ties 
 
 lipped over, 
 
 |h they did 
 tracks of 
 had given 
 eir friends, 
 ng mother 
 rder to in- 
 ther of the 
 woods, but 
 rned to her 
 'e that they 
 at that was 
 cd it to the 
 think that 
 )ut to look, 
 time all the 
 eturn of the 
 heir adven- 
 aelts to the 
 
 America is 
 
 of the Alic- 
 ). 1 60, 308). 
 
 the escape 
 •m the tree. 
 
 the young 
 ithern Van- 
 o( the tale, 
 
 he Dacota 
 ntributions 
 'Jour. Am. 
 ;he Pawnee 
 :he Kiowa, 
 
 ' 
 
 Traditions of the Tsetsaut. 
 
 43 
 
 13. THE liKAVKK AND THE PORCUIMNE. 
 
 Once upon a time the Porcupine was on a small island. It began 
 to rain and the waters began to rise, so that it was cut off from 
 retreat to the mainland. It cried and sang : '• I wish it would cease 
 ruining ; I wish it would grow cold and the waters would freeze over." 
 (This song is said to be sung in both the Tlingit and the Ts'r.ts'a'ut 
 languages.) Then the clouds dispersed, and the waters began to 
 freeze over. The Porcupine succeeded in reaching the shore, but not 
 without difficulty, since the ice was very sli[>pery The Beaver met 
 it and said : " You must stay at home when the branches of the 
 trees are covered with frost, else you will fall down and break your 
 bones." The Porcupine replied: "Henceforth you shall live in 
 rivers and in lakes." 
 
 Note. — This is a very imperfect record of a well-known tradi- 
 tion of the Tsimshian. (I?oas, /. c. p. 305 ; Petitot, /. c. p. 234, col- 
 lected among the Hare Indians.) The fullest record of this tradi- 
 tion was obtained on Nass River. The remark of the Ts'Kts'ii'ut 
 from whom I obtained the talc, to the effect that the song is sung in 
 both the Tlingit and Ts'Ets'a'ut languages, seems to indicate that the 
 tale must be familiar to the Tlingit also. 
 
 14. tsufa'. 
 
 Once upon a time two young men went hunting porcupines. They 
 found a den under a rock, and one of them crawled in. While they 
 were there a Tsufa' came, and when the young man saw him he 
 called his companion, shouting: "A Tsufa' is coming." But the 
 Tsufa' did not kill the young man. He pitied him and made friends 
 with him. In vain he tried to induce the young man who had 
 crawled into the cave to come out, promising to adopt him and help 
 him in all his undertakings. He would not come. Finally the 
 Tsufa' grew angry, and defecated in front of the entrance to the den, 
 thus imprisoning the young man. Pie left him to i)erish in the cave. 
 
 He placed the other one on his head and carried him to his home. 
 When the two young men were missed by their » :v,nds and parents, 
 the people set out to find them, but a fresh snow had covered their 
 tracks as well as those of the Tsufa'. 
 
 The giant reached a frozen lake in which there were a great many 
 beaver dams. There he stopped. With his hands he scooped up 
 the beaver dams and shook them, so that all the beavers dropped 
 out. Then he killed them by filliping them. He singed them over 
 a fire, and ate them when they were done. A beaver was just a 
 mouthful for him. The young man ate part of one beaver only. 
 
 I 
 
44 
 
 Journal of American Folk- Lore. 
 
 i ! 
 
 !^! 
 
 After he had eaten, the Tsufa' lay down. He had discovered a num- 
 ber of elks browsin^^ beyond a small hill. He stretched his hand 
 over the hill, and in it caught three elks, which he squeezed to death. 
 Then he broke off dry limbs of trees, and made a large fire, at which 
 he roasted the elks. When they were done he began to eat. For 
 him an elk was just two mouthfuls. 
 
 On the following day he travelled on. lie came to another lake, 
 where he found cariboos. These the Tsufa' killed. 
 
 Deinde progress!, ad magnum domicilium pervenerunt, ubi habita- 
 bat Tsufae occisi u.\or. Du.v, cum in possessionem siccatae carnis 
 omnis invasisset, quae ibi condita esset, adulescenti "Cuba quaeso," 
 inquit, " cum hac muliere." Is primum tinuiit ; mo.x autem illi cohor- 
 tanti paruit abiitque ex oculis in mulicris vaginam. Quae cum a 
 Tsufa magna voce obsecraretur nc filium ipsius necaret, c strato ex- 
 siluit atque se excussit donee adulcscens ad humum delajisus est. 
 Tum vero Tsufa i])se cum ea cubuit. Mentulam aulem suam 
 propter incredibilem longitudinem ita ferebat ut corpus ejus bis 
 amplexa per adversum tergum atque etiam super humerum por- 
 reeta esset. Itaque mulicrem, cum hac transfigeret ut extrema pars 
 ex ore ejus exstaret, interfecit. 
 
 Finally the young man longed to return to his own country. The 
 Tsufa' made a staff of yellow cedar, which was to show him the way. 
 Whenever he put it into the ground it would turn the way the young 
 man had to go. He also tolc' him that the staff would break in 
 twair as soon as he died. Then they parted. The young man fol- 
 lowc ' the direction the staff was pointing, and after long wanderings 
 rear cd his home. There he married. He placed this staff under 
 a tr After two years the staff broke, and he knew that his friend 
 was cad. 
 
 N TE. — A similar tradition see in " Verhandlungen Ges. f. An- 
 thr.pologie," Berlin, 1888, p. 404, collected among the Eskimo of 
 Baffin Land. 
 
 15. THE XUDELE. 
 
 The Xudele are cannibals. They are very lean. Their noses 
 are turned up and their eyebrows run upward. Their faces look 
 almost like those of dogs. They wear small axes in their belts, with 
 which they kill men. They take the scent of men like dogs. 
 
 One day the Xudclc had gone hunting man. They found the tracks 
 of a hunter who was on the mountains. He saw them coming, and 
 tried to escape. When he came near a snow-field that terminated 
 abruptly at a precipice, he cut steps into it and climbed down. Half 
 way down he found a small rock shelter, where he stayed. He re- 
 
 I 
 
 I 
 
 I ! 
 
 ^, 
 
num- 
 luind 
 
 Icalh. 
 
 which 
 I'or 
 
 lake, 
 
 abita- 
 
 Tradi lions of the T:ic,Saut. 
 
 45 
 
 solved to make an attempt to kill his pursuers by a ruse. lie built 
 a fitc and roasted a porcupine that he had cau<;ht. The Xudcle saw 
 the smoke and snielled the roasting meat. When they came to the 
 snow-field it had grown dark. They shouted down : " Where arc 
 you? Let us have some of your meat!" The 'I's'i.ts'a'ut shouted 
 back : " Vou must slide d(nvn this snow-field, then you will find me. 
 I invite you to take part in my meal ! " Then the Xudele began to 
 slide down the snow-field one after the other, and were precipitated 
 into the abyss, h'inally only one of their number was left. He did 
 not dare to slide ilown, and shouted : •' Where are all my friends.''" 
 Tile man replied : "They are all here." But the XildCle could not 
 be induced to slide down. He cut steps into the snow, and clindjcd 
 down a' the man had done. Finally he reached the man. When 
 he did not see his friends, he asked what had become of them, and 
 the man told him that they had all perished because they had slid 
 past his slicker. Now the XudCic, who did not dare to attack the 
 man single-handed, offered to gamble with him, and said they would 
 stake their lives. The Ts'cts'fi'ut refused. He had employed the 
 ame while the Xudele were sliding down the snow-ficUl to make a 
 heavy club, which he had i)laced near his fire. While he was talk- 
 ing with the XfidCle he watched his opportunity, and slew him with 
 his club. Then he returned to his village and told what had hap- 
 pened. The people were afraid that the friends of the Xudele 
 mi,i;ht come to look for them, and moved to another place. 
 
 At another time a man had gone out hunting. It was in summer. 
 He discovered a vast number of Xudele coming right up to him, so 
 that he could not escape. There happened to be a swamp close to 
 the trail which he was following. He jumped into the mud and lay 
 dov/n, Icceping motionless. He looked just like a log. He extended 
 his arms, so that they looked like limbs of a tree. The XudCld 
 came, and one after the othe* passed him without noticing him. 
 V'inally, one of their number noticed the resemblance of the sup- 
 posed log to a human figure. He raised his a.xe, and was about to 
 strike him. 13ut since the man did not wince, he concluded that it 
 was nothing but a log and passed on. When all had passed, the 
 man jumped up and ran on the nearest way to his village. There he 
 told the chief that the Xudele were coming. He called a council, 
 and they resolved what to do. They killed a number of dogs and 
 cut them up, skin and bone and intestines. Then they pounded flint 
 to dust, mixed it with the meat, and made a soup of it. W^hcn the 
 Xudele ca.ic, they invited them to the chief's house and set the soup 
 before them. Before they began eating, a little boy happened to 
 walk past a XudCle, who seized him, tore out his arms and legs, and 
 ate him. The Ts'Ets'a'ut did not dare to remonstrate. Now the 
 
46 
 
 yournal of American Folk-Lore. 
 
 Xudele began to eat. Soon the effects of the poison — the pounded 
 stone — began to be felt. They acted as though they were drunk, 
 and some of them fell dead. Then the Ts'Ets'a'ut took up their 
 clubs and killed them one and all. 
 
 stick of 
 man, he 
 for me." 
 
 The XudOle put up traps for catching men on the trails which 
 they travel on their snowshoes. They cover a stick with moss and 
 snow, which is so arranged that it catches in the snowshoe of the 
 traveller. A few feet- in front of this stick is another, sharp-pointed 
 stick, put into the ground point upward. When the snowshoes 
 catch in the first stick, the traveller falls forward on to the pointed 
 stick, w'i h pierces him. One day a hunter was passing over a 
 trail. He saw a small irregularity of the snow, and discovered that it 
 was the trap of a Xudele. He intended to go on, when he saw the 
 Xudele to whom the trap belonged. As he was unable to make his 
 escape, he tried a stratagem. He struck his nose so that it bled and 
 smeared his chest with blood. Then he lay down on the pointed 
 the trap. The Xudele approached, and when he saw the 
 smiled and said : " Again my trap has caught something 
 He took the man off the stick, put him into his bag, and, 
 after having reset his trap, turned to go home. The man was very- 
 heavy, and he had to put down his load from time to time. Then 
 the man blew the air out of his compressed lips, thus imitating the 
 noise of escaping gases. The Xudele said : " He must have been 
 in my trap for a long time, for the body is decomposing already ; the 
 gases are escaping." When he arrived at home he threw the body 
 down near the fireplace. The man glanced around furtively, and, 
 saw stores of dried human flesh in the house. There was a black 
 woman in the house, and three children were playing near the fire. 
 The Xudele went to fetch his knife in order to skin and carve the 
 man, and he sent his wife for water. The man saw an axe lying 
 near the fire, and when the Xudele turned his back he jumped up, 
 seized it, and split the head of his captor. The Xudele cried : 
 "Sxinadle, asidle," and died. (It is said that the Xudele always 
 utter this cry, which is unintelligible to the Ts'Ets'a'ut, at the time 
 of their death.) When the children saw their father dying they ran 
 out of aie house, assumed the shape of martens, and ran up a tree. 
 The man threw the body of the Xudele into the fire. Then he went 
 out of the hut to kill the woman, whom he met carrying a basket of 
 water. He split her stomach with his axe. Then two minks jumped 
 out of her and ran into the water. She died and he burnt her 
 body. When he returned to his country he told what he had seen. 
 Therefore we know that the martens and minks descend from the 
 Xudele. 
 
Traditions of the Tsctsaiit. 
 
 47 
 
 Note. — I do not know of any Athapaskan legend resembling the 
 present in detail, but in the collection of traditions published by 
 Petitot beings half dog and half man play a very important part. 
 They are described as having the faculty of taking the scent of man 
 in the same manner as the Xudele. Similar tales may be found 
 among all the Eskimo tribes, who call the fabulous inlanders, who 
 arc half dog, half men, Adla or Eqigdlit. 
 
 1 6. ALAMA TSAT'a d'agX. 
 
 In the beginning there were no mountain goats. The first man 
 to discover them was ALama. One day he went up the mountains 
 and found a cave full of goats. When it grew dark he put a snare 
 in the entrance of the cave and hid himself near by. As soon as a 
 goat came out it was caught in the snare. He killed two. He tied 
 the one around his waist, the other one on his back. Thus he car- 
 ried them home. Therefore he was called aLama tsat'a d'aga, or 
 ALama amongst the mountain goats. 
 
 17. adada', . . 
 
 Two men and one woman went in their canoe to Nek'Chudja' 
 (Boca de Quadra }) to dry salmon. One day the woman crossed the 
 lake to gather berries. When she did not return in the evening, 
 the men thought she might have been captured by the Haida. But 
 in the evening, when passing a steep rock, they saw an Adada' com- 
 in"- out, and knew at once that he had devoured the woman when 
 she was crossing the lake. He looked like a giant. They resolved 
 to kill the monster. They called the other men of the village to 
 help them, and they cut a number of young hemlock-trees and sharp- 
 ened both ends. Thus they made three boat-loads of sharp poles. 
 They carried their canoe up to the top of the rock under which the 
 monster lived. Then they let 't down to the water by means of 
 two stout cedar-bark ropes. After a while the water began to swell 
 and to form a deep whirlpool. The Adada' was drinking. Then 
 they dropped the sharp poles into the whirlpool, in which they dis- 
 appca-ed. After a while the water began to grow calmer, and 
 finally the whirlpool disappeared. The Adada' came up and drifted 
 on the water. The poles had pierced his stomach and his intestines. 
 His hair was blue, and his skin like that of a man. The men let 
 the canoe down to the lake, paddled up to the body, which they 
 chopped up with their hatchets. . It was as large as a house. In its 
 stomach they found the canoe in which the woman had gone out. 
 The woman was still in it, but she was dead. 
 
 Above Atxaye' is a lake, Niigufcga'. A steep precipice falls 
 
 di 
 
48 
 
 yournal of American Folk-Lore 
 
 down toward the water. Below it lived the monster Adada'. Once 
 upon a time in winter, many men went up lo the lake. On the ice 
 they saw an animal that looked like a huge porcupine ; but when 
 they came nearer they saw that its skin was smooth, and that it had 
 a mouth like that of a mouse. They approached it cautiously, and 
 found that it was dead. Its skin was quite blue. Tho people were 
 afraid of it, and left the place. After a few days another party of 
 men passed the lake. They also saw the animal. 
 
 Later on, a man and his son passed the lake on their way up the 
 mountains. They were going to hunt marmots. They set their 
 traps on a steep mountain near the lake. It was a hot, sunny day. 
 All of a sudden they saw the waters rising, and a huge monster 
 emerged from the waters. It looked like a man. It rose up to its 
 waist. Its head was as large as a hut. Its hair was blue and drifted 
 on the surface of the water. It was more than three fathoms long. 
 The men kept hidden behind a rock. When the sun set, the mon- 
 ster dived and disappeared under the rock, where it lived in a cave. 
 
 1 8. THE METEOR (.'). 
 
 A long time ago, a fire was seen to approach through the air from 
 the north. It looked like a huge animal. Its face was fire. Fire 
 came from its mouth and from its back. Flames of fire also shot 
 from its paws. It passed thundering through the air, moving back- 
 ward. In former times we were often visited by these monsters, 
 but they have not been seen for a long time. 
 
 19. THE FISHER. 
 
 The fishers are always trying to kill people. They appear to 
 hunters in the shape of pretty girls. They have a very nice smell. 
 They try to seduce men. If they succeed the man must die. They 
 also try to kill girls and women who go out picking berries. They 
 appear to them in the shape of good-looking and sweet-smelling 
 men. If they succeed in seducing the girls, these must die. 
 
 I was also told that before our times the country was inhabited first 
 by the ts'ak'e', who wore marmot-skins ; later on, by the futvud'id', 
 who wore bear-skins. Both were said to have spoken the Ts'Ets'a'ut 
 language, and it is not quite clear to my mind if the narrator did 
 not want to tell me that his ancestors wore garments of this kind. 
 He also told me a story of the encounter of a Tlingit with the 
 land-otter people, which I do not tell here because it is evidently 
 simply a Tlingit story of an encounter with the kushtaka, or land- 
 otter people. 
 
 Franz Boas. 
 
 vv 
 
 ■^^mm 
 
 mm 
 
 m 
 
li . ii