killer-whale chief’s son. She stole their food at night, and when
her labret was discovered in a box of grease, pretended that it had
gone there of its own accord. By and by she killed her husband, and
pretended to mourn over his body while in reality eating him. Raven
pretended he was going to make all of the killer whales white, but
instead of doing so killed and ate them. Then he came to the fish-hawk
and began living upon its food, saying that he was going to bring it
food in return later on. He tried to live with another bird, also,
but the bird left him. He married among the goose people, but they
discovered him eating a goose, so they left him. After this Raven was
invited to a feast, but did not come at once, and they went on without
him. When he did come they paid him no attention, and he had nothing
but leavings. Then Raven gave a feast himself, and instituted the feast
customs.
Now Raven returned to the house of his grandfather, Nās-cᴀˊkî-yēł, and
liberated the flickers which had been kept under his mother’s arms. For
this his grandfather tried to kill him by having a tree fall upon him,
and a canoe close in on him, and by putting him into a kettle full of
water over the fire, successively, but in vain, so finally he raised a
great flood. Raven and his mother climbed from one retaining timber to
another in Nās-cᴀˊkî-yēł’s house, which was really the world itself,
and finally flew to the highest cloud in the sky and hung there, while
his mother floated on the water in the skin of a diver. Then he let go
and fell upon a kelp. Next he obtained sea urchins from the bottom of
the sea and deceived the woman who controls the tide, so as to make it
go down. He and another person tried out grease, and the other for a
deceit Raven practised put him inside of a box of grease and kicked him
off of a cliff.
All of the people of a Nass town named Gîtǃîˊkc were killed except
a chief, his sister, and his sister’s daughter. Then the chief got
Old-man-who-foresees-all-troubles-in-the-world to help him. This old
man gave him an arrow which enabled him to kill many of his enemies,
but finally he disobeyed instructions and was himself killed, while his
sister and her daughter fled to the woods. Having offered her daughter
in marriage and refused all of the animals, this woman finally accepted
the sun’s son. Then he put his mother-in-law into a tree where she
became the echo, and took his wife up to the sky. There she had eight
children, who were let down to earth on the town site of Gîtǃîˊkc and
were helped by the sun to destroy all of their enemies.
One time a woman of the same town stepped upon some grizzly-bear
excrement and was carried away by the bear people. Finally she was
helped by an old woman, and ran away. As she went she threw various
articles behind her which obstructed her pursuers, and at last she
was taken into the canoe of a man named Ginᴀxcᴀmgêˊtk who married her
and took her home. Her husband had also for wife a big clam, which
killed the new wife, but was in turn destroyed by her husband, who
also restored her to life. Finally she went back to her father, but
she had really been living under ground all this time and was very
filthy. After a time she gave birth to a boy who was very smart.
When he was out fishing he was taken into his father’s house and
received a magic club which killed of itself. With this he destroyed
a giant crab and a giant mussel which used to kill people. By and by
this boy had a son, who was very different from him and was called
Man-that-eats-the-leavings. At that time the daughter of a chief in
a neighboring village said something about the devilfish for which
she was carried off by them and married to a devilfish man. Presently
her two children came up to visit their grandfather and he learned
what had become of her. Then he invited her and her husband and
children, and killed the husband, keeping her with them. For this
the devilfish made war upon them and suffocated several people, but
Man-that-eats-the-leavings happened along and stopped them. Then
Man-that-eats-the-leavings lived in a brush house on the beach, and the
rest of his story is similar to that of Garbage-man in story 89.
Man-that-eats-the-leavings had a son who was a great hunter. One time,
when he was out hunting, he lost consciousness and, coming to, found
himself surrounded by several men who taught him the secret-society
dances. After a time he went to the Queen Charlotte islands and was
told about two youths who had become wizards by sleeping on the beach
among driftwood. They would be out all night, flying around among the
brants and geese. Finally a man found it out by fasting and drinking
sea water, but they paid him not to tell about them. When he got back
to Alaska the secret-society man told this story, and wherever it was
repeated there began to be wizards.
One time Raven went shooting with some boys, when the canoe was upset
and they were drowned, and he changed them into sea birds.
At the southern end of Prince of Wales island he met a man called
Qonᴀłgīˊc, who had lost everything by gambling, and he enabled him
to meet Greatest Gambler and win. So Qonᴀłgīˊc renewed the game and
got back everything he had lost besides all that his antagonist had
owned. Then his opponent’s wife left him, and he went away and lived by
himself. From a grouse this latter learned of a great medicine-man, who
in turn taught him a medicine which would make him a great dancer. He
went to another town and pleased people so much by his dances and the
songs that he composed that they paid him a great deal of property, and
he became wealthy. After a while he taught a chief’s son, so that he
became a still better dancer, but the boy’s father determined that it
was best to leave this sort of dancing to low-caste people, reserving
the chief’s dance for those of high caste.
The man that first learned about dancing was upset in a canoe and
became a land-otter-man called Tūtsǃīdîgūˊʟ, who has very great power.
Some time afterward four boys were drawn out to sea after some black
ducks, upset there, and taken into the land-otters’ dens. A shaman
told the people where they were, and they burned out the dens, killing
many otters, but Tūtsǃīdîgūˊʟ escaped with the boys. Now the land
otters made war on human beings, and the bodies of the latter broke out
in pimples and sores which were really caused by the spider-crab-shell
arrows. At last some people came upon two white land otters, which they
carried home and treated as if they were deer (peace ambassadors). Then
the land otters came to the town and danced to make peace.
The people of that place were now very happy, but before they could
leave it Raven came to them and told them not to go away. When four
boys were at last sent, a man came down from the woods and told them
that three would die successively, while the fourth would reach home,
announce that the shaman was to die, and then perish. Everything
happened as he foretold, so that the people were very much frightened
and no longer dared to leave town. A child which cried very much was
carried away by Man-with-a-burning-hand, and when its parents found
it, was lying in a hole in the cliff, and ants were crawling out of
its nose, eyes, and ears. Now follows a much longer version of story
93, below. Instead of being brought home at once from the sea-lion
rock, according to this version the hero was abandoned there and taken
into the house of the sea lions, where he cured a wounded sea lion and
received a box in return which controlled the winds. Inside of this he
drifted ashore. Next follows the story of the monster devilfish (story
11). At Tuxican a girl began to nurse a woodworm, which grew so large
that the people became afraid, induced her to come away from it, and
killed it. Since then her people, the G̣ānᴀxteˊdî, have used it as a
crest. A shaman there named Sǃāwᴀˊn was sent for by the land otters to
cure one of their number, who was carried along concealed under a mat.
When they reached their town they tried to make him think that the sick
person was in another house, but his rattle and belt ran ashore ahead
of him to the right place. Then he cured the sick otter by drawing an
arrow point out of its side; soon afterward the shaman was found lying
upon a sandy beach not far from his own town with gulls flying about
him.
32. KAKĒˊQǃᵘTÊ
This story is partially identical with story 104. A man named
Kakēˊqǃᵘtê went up among the Athapascans and taught them all sorts of
ways of collecting and preserving food. Then he brought them down to
the Grass people, who sent them away, so they came to the ʟǃūkǃnᴀxᴀˊdî.
After that the ʟǃūkǃnᴀxᴀˊdî settled along the coast above Cross sound.
One time the G̣ānᴀxteˊdî of Chilkat gave a feast and made a raven hat.
The ʟǃūkǃnᴀxᴀˊdî also made a raven out of coppers, and took it to
the Kāˊgwᴀntān when they went to feast them. War followed with the
Chilkat, and at first the ʟǃūkǃnᴀxᴀˊdî were defeated, but, when they
had obtained new spear heads made of iron that had been washed ashore
on some wreckage, they renewed the fight, killed Chief Yēł-x̣āk, and
carried off his carved pole. Then the Chilkat went to Kᴀqǃᴀnuwūˊ, and
they made peace.
33. ORIGIN OF THE G̣ONAQADĒˊT
A certain woman disliked her son-in-law very much because he was lazy
and fond of gambling. When the people went to camp he split a tree in
two, spread it apart, and caught a lake monster. He put on its skin
and then began catching fish and sea animals, which he left where his
mother-in-law could find them. She thought she was a shaman, and began
prophesying what animal would be left next. One time the Raven called
just as her son-in-law was coming out of the monster’s skin in front of
the village, and he died, and, when she found who had been bringing in
the animals, his mother-in-law died of shame. After that the man’s wife
had his body and the skin carried back to the edge of the lake. There
he came to life and carried her down into his house at the bottom. He
became the G̣onaqᴀdēˊt, and their children are the women at the head of
the creeks.
34. A STORY OF THE G̣ONAQADĒˊT
A chief accompanied by his nephews anchored in front of a cliff near
the mouth of Nass. During the night all were carried away by the
G̣onaqᴀdēˊt except the chief, who was discovered there and brought
home. At first the people prepared to wage war in retaliation, but the
chief induced them to invite the G̣onaqᴀdēˊt to a feast instead. The
latter came, restored the chief’s nephews, and gave each of them a
headdress, rattle, and songs.
35. ORIGIN OF THE LǃEˊNAXX̣ĪˊDAQ
The first part of this is another version of story 94, while the latter
part is a version of the last episode in story 105.
36. THE THUNDERS
A girl offended a snail and was found next morning on the side of a
high cliff with a big snail coiled about her. Then her brothers made
wings, flew up to her, and brought her down. Afterward they brought
food to the people of that town, and finally they became the Thunders.
37. ORIGIN OF THE SCREECH OWL
A woman at Sitka refused to give her mother-in-law herring, and when
she held out her hand for some, dropped the hot milt of a male herring
into her hand and burned it. When her son came home the old woman told
him. Then the son went out in his canoe, brought in a load of herring,
and told his wife to go down and bring it up. She went down without her
basket, and began calling to them to bring it to her. As they paid no
attention, she kept on calling, and she called all night. Finally her
voice changed to the hooting of an owl, and she also changed into an
owl.
38. LITTLE FELON
A little person came out of the felon on a man’s finger. He was a hard
worker and a fast runner. One time he raced Heron all the way around
Prince of Wales island. A certain woman would give her daughter only
to the person who should guess to what animal a louse skin she had,
belonged. Little Felon helped a young man to guess it and afterward
assisted him to overcome various monster animals the woman sent him
after. Finally he helped him bring up the old woman’s bracelet from
under the ocean. By and by this young man and his wife had a quarrel
and she disappeared. He went hunting for her and became a beach snipe.
39. ORIGIN OF THE FERN ROOT AND THE GROUND HOG
A cliff fell over on some girls, imprisoning all of them. They rubbed
grease on the rocks, and the birds inclosed with them pecked at it and
pecked a hole through. As the last girl was trying to get out through
this aperture the rock closed on her, and her head and breast became
the fern root, but her hinder portion the ground hog.
40. THE HALIBUT THAT DIVIDED THE QUEEN CHARLOTTE ISLANDS
An unsuccessful fisherman on the Queen Charlotte islands finally caught
a small halibut which flopped about on the beach, and at last increased
so in size that it smashed that town to pieces and the Queen Charlotte
islands themselves into numerous fragments.
41. THE IMAGE THAT CAME TO LIFE
A young Haida lost his wife, of whom he was so fond that he had an
image carved to resemble her. He cherished this for a long time, until
it finally came to life, but it neither moved nor spoke much. It gave
birth to a flourishing red cedar, and that is why cedars are so fine on
the Queen Charlotte group.
42. DJĪYĪˊN
An orphan girl named Djīyīˊn was very badly treated. One time she
determined to stay on an island by herself, and while there she became
a shaman and discovered a great quantity of food which made her rich.
By and by the town chief’s daughter fell sick and all kinds of shamans
were summoned to no purpose. Finally they called Djīyīˊn, who found
that the wild canary (sǃāsǃ) had bewitched her. She made this bird find
the charm and throw it into the sea. Then the bird was taken at its own
request to a place some distance from the village, where it disappeared.
43. THE SELF-BURNING FIRE
All of the people of a certain town on Copper river died of starvation
except eight men. These started to walk down to the sea, but fell by
the way one at a time. Then the last man came to a self-burning fire
which warmed him, and all of his friends came to life and assembled
around it.
44. THE GIANT OF TĀˊSNA
A boy whose people had died off met a giant and shot him in the mouth,
bringing them all back.
45. THE WOMAN WHO MARRIED A LAND OTTER
Another version of story 6, which differs principally in making the man
visit the land-otter town.
46. THE LAND-OTTERS’ CAPTIVE
A Sitka man was captured and carried south by the land otters. There he
met an aunt who had been captured long before, and her husbands brought
him back again. He was now a land-otter-man, and annoyed the people so
much that they captured him and restored him by harsh treatment to his
senses.
47. THE MAN FED FROM THE SKY
During a period of scarcity a chief’s nephew received food through the
smoke hole, with which he filled the empty food boxes and feasted all
of his uncle’s people. Then his uncle gave him his younger wife, who
had been kind to him.
48. THE SALMON SACK
A poor boy went fishing and pulled up a sack filled with multitudes of
salmon.
49. ROOTS
A version of story 13.
50. THE MUCUS CHILD
All of the people of a certain village disappeared except a woman and
her daughter. The latter swallowed some mucus and gave birth to a boy
who grew rapidly. By and by he met a being called Strength, who made
him bathe every day, pull up trees, and break rocks, till he was very
strong. After that he climbed to the top of a mountain, found a town
occupied by wolves, and killed all. He came to another wolf town and
obtained the box of his uncles’ lives. After he had left this in each
house for four days, his people all came to life again.
51. THE SALMON CHIEF
A man came upon a salmon lying on the beach and was about to take it
home, when the salmon spoke to him, telling him to put it into the
sea. He did so and afterward caught many salmon. Another time he met a
salmon in the same place, which told him to eat it and put the bones
of its head under his pillow. In the morning he saw two fine baby boys
there. One always stayed at home, but the other was very energetic and
started away. He came to an old woman who told him about a seven-headed
monster to which they were about to give the chief’s daughter. The boy
killed this monster and married the girl.
52. THE JEALOUS UNCLE
A man was so jealous of his wife that he killed all of his nephews
but one by pushing them inside of the shell of a big clam or into the
hole of a devilfish. The last of the nephews obtained an eagle-down
bracelet which enabled him to turn into a ball of feathers, and with
its assistance destroyed both of the creatures. He also escaped in this
manner when his uncle pushed him off a high tree. Finally his uncle
fastened him on a plank, which he set adrift, but the plank went ashore
where two girls lived, and he married them. One of these had been in
love with the first boy that was killed. By and by the man returned to
his uncle and killed him.
53. THE MAN WHO MARRIED THE EAGLE
The wife of a Haida youth went with the son of the town chief, and
when her husband discovered it he shot him. The slayer, escaping by
canoe, was abandoned by his slave on a small reef. He got inside of a
sea-lion skin, floated ashore, and was found by a girl among the eagle
people, whom he married. All his brothers-in-law gave him eagle skins,
in which he went hunting. After a while he learned that his mother had
been driven out of town, so he carried all kinds of animals to her. One
time he killed a whale and left it in front of her house. The people of
the town he had come from found this and began cutting it up, but he
seized the town chief and carried him, along with the other men in that
village, who were holding on to one another, far out to sea, where he
drowned them.
54. THE BRANT WIFE
This is a version of story 24. It differs mainly in the concluding
portion, according to which the hero was left on a rock far out at sea
and was carried ashore by a sea bird.
55. THE DUCK HELPER
All the people of a certain village died except a woman and her son.
One time the boy went far inland and got lost. He came to a lake and
found a black duck there, which lent him its coat in which to fly home.
56. THE BOY WHO SHOT THE STAR
Two boys were great playmates, but one of them said something that
displeased the moon, and the moon carried him off. Then the other boy
shot an arrow into a star in the sky and kept shooting until he had
made a chain reaching down to the earth. This turned into a ladder on
which he mounted, living on berries borne on branches stuck into his
hair. Arrived in the sky country, he met an old woman who told him
where to go for his friend and how to get him. Then he went to the
moon’s house, pulled his friend out from a place near the smoke hole
where he had been kept, and placed a cone there to imitate his cries.
When the people discovered that their captive was gone, they pursued,
but the boys threw behind them some things that the old woman had
provided, which turned into great obstacles, and escaped to her house.
Afterward, by her direction, they lay down where the second boy had
lain, went to sleep there, and, when they woke up, found themselves on
the earth below.
57. THE BOY AND THE GIANT
A little boy went hunting and came upon a giant with whom he lived for
a long time. As the giant was carrying him along they came upon a very
small bird, which the boy shot and put into the bosom of his shirt.
This bird was so heavy for the giant that he had to throw it away. By
and by another giant attacked the first, and would have killed him, but
the boy threw his friend’s club, made out of a beaver skeleton, at the
intruder, and it chewed off his legs, so that he was easily destroyed.
58. THE BOY WITH ARROWS ON HIS HEAD
A boy was born with sharp arrow points on his head. He was of so evil a
disposition that he killed his own mother and afterward ran about in
the forest, destroying all he met. At last an uncle of his killed him
and burned his body, the ashes of which became minute gnats.
59. GAMNĀˊTCKǃÎ
A somewhat extreme variant of part of story 4. The hero obtains the
favor of the red-cod people by painting them red and of the shark
people by painting them black.
60. THE HĪN-TAỴĪˊCÎ
A shaman took his friends to a place near Sitka and seated them there
facing the sea. Then a large number of killer whales came near and
fought a flat fish with sharp edges, called hīn-taỵīˊcî, which killed
all of them except three. Some time later the shaman took them out
again and the same thing recurred. The killer whales got devilfishes
and a big halibut to assist them successively with like result, but
finally they brought a big crab by which the hīn-taỵīˊcî was destroyed.
61. THE EAST AND NORTH WINDS
A man married the daughter of East Wind, and afterward he married the
daughter of North Wind. Everyone thought the latter was very pretty on
account of her sparkling clothing, but when the east wind began to blow
it disappeared, for it was only frost and icicles.
62. THE BIG BEAVER
Some people drained a beaver lake and killed all of the beaver there
except one very large one. Some time afterward they went up to that
place and heard a woman singing, and on their way down they were all
drowned. Most of them were taken captive by the big beaver.
63. BEAVER AND PORCUPINE
A short version of story 15.
64. THE MAN WHO ENTERTAINED THE BEARS
A man who had lost all of his friends did not care to live, so he lay
down across a grizzly-bear trail. When the bears came down, however,
he invited them to his house to a feast, upon which they went straight
back into the forest. Early next day they came down, and he fed them,
after which they licked the paint from his breast and arm. Next day the
smallest bear came back, told their host that he was a human being who
had been carried off by the bears, and interpreted what the bear chief
had said in his speech the day before.
65. MOUNTAIN DWELLER
Two girls ate between meals, contrary to the tabus, and their mother
scratched the inside of the mouth of the elder and scolded them both.
Among other things she told them that they could not marry Mountain
Dweller. Then the girls ran away, and after wandering for some time,
came to Mountain Dweller, who married them. While they were there their
mother-in-law killed them because they looked at her while she was
eating, but Mountain Dweller killed her in turn and restored them to
life. After that they went to their father’s town, and their husband
accompanied them, carrying a magic basket which contained an enormous
amount of food, and yet was made small enough to be carried on his
thumb. Afterward they killed their mother in revenge.
66. HOW THE SITKA KÎKSAˊDÎ OBTAINED THE FROG
A man and his wife hunting near Sitka heard a frog singing. Both
claimed it at first, but finally the man let his wife have it, and her
people, the Kîksᴀˊdî, have used it ever since.
67. QĀQǃATCGŪˊK
A very successful fur-seal hunter was driven to a rock far out at sea
where there was a great abundance of sea animals. After some months he
and his companions set out on their return, guiding themselves by the
sun. At length they came in sight of the summit of Mount Edgecumbe and
later of Verstovaia. They rested on Kruzof island, and then came to
Dax̣ēˊt, where the people were camping, and were received joyfully. The
elder of his two wives had grieved for him all this time and was the
first to catch sight of him, but the younger had married again and now
felt very much ashamed.
68. THE BEAVER OF KILLISNOO
A beaver was captured by some of the Dēˊcitān, who afterward found two
spears that it had made. Becoming offended, it killed its master with
one of these and then caused the earth on which his house stood to fall
in. It had previously made a great excavation underneath.
69. STORY OF THE GRIZZLY-BEAR CREST OF THE TEˊQOEDÎ
Almost the same as story 19.
70. STORY OF THE EAGLE CREST OF THE NEXAˊDÎ
A poor man out hunting was guided by an eagle to a great house up in
the woods. This was occupied by eagles, and the man was so happy among
them that he married there and remained with them forever. Then his
brothers-in-law gave him an eagle skin with which he caught all kinds
of fish. Some of these he left where his mother and brothers could find
them, and he told them in a dream what had become of him, and that it
was he that was providing them with food. One day they saw him bringing
in some fish, and heard him say, “It is I.”
71. STORY OF THE KILLER-WHALE CREST OF THE DAQLǃAWEˊDÎ
A man quarreled so much with his wife that his brothers became ashamed
of it and left him on an island out at sea. There he whittled out from
various kinds of wood killer whales, to which he endeavored to give
life, and was finally successful with yellow cedar. He sent these out
to upset his brothers-in-law’s canoes and destroy them.
72. STORY OF THE NANỴAĀˊỴÎ CRESTS
At the time of the flood a grizzly bear and a mountain goat accompanied
the Nanỵaāˊỵî as they were climbing a mountain. Since then they have
used those animals as crests.
73. STORY OF THE FROG CREST OF THE KÎKSAˊDÎ OF WRANGELL