TSIMSHIAN STORIES IN CARVED WOOD 365 
knees eating grass like animals, but they did 
not mention this to the people at the time. 
The following morning at an early hour 
the villagers assembled and led by the visi- 
tors, crossed the river and climbed the moun- 
tain until they reached what appeared to be a 
broad level expanse where stood a large feast 
house. This was a delusion, however, they 
were really on a narrow rock shelf — for the 
people were under the spell of the mountain. 
Around the house were platforms of broad 
planks which overhung steep precipices, and 
their hosts who appeared as human beings 
in their white blankets were in reality moun- 
tain goats. 
The people were feasted and then the chief, 
their host, began to dance, singing a strange 
song of his people: ‘“‘I am shaking my hoofs 
over the mountain side,” and they saw the 
rock open and close again, which they could 
not understand. 
When night came they were given sleeping 
places on the platforms around the house, 
the chiefs on the lower ones and the common 
people on those above. The hosts, however, 
took their places on the inner sides and 
placed the guests on the outer edges, except 
in the case of the hunter who the previous 
year had caught the kid and painted its horns 
red. To him came a young man whose face 
was decorated in red, who asked him to share 
his sleeping bench with him, and he alone was 
placed on the inner side of the platform. 
In the night when all were sleeping, the 
goat hosts pushed the sleepers off into space 
and all were killed except the young hunter 
who had painted the horns of the kid, who 
in truth was his host and protector in 
human form. 
When he awoke and found his friends gone 
he was very sad, for he saw that he was on a 
narrow rock shelf of the mountain side in a 
place inaccessible to man. But his protector 
took off his shoes which seemed to be hoofs 
and putting them on the hunter’s feet he told 
him that with them he need have no fear, 
that he could jump from shelf to shelf with 
perfect safety. Also he told him to take them 
off when he reached the level ground and put 
them in a certain place where he could find 
them. 
When the young hunter reached the base 
of the mountain he found the bruised dead 
bodies of all who had accompanied him to 
the feast and only those were left who had 
remained in the village. 
THE STORY OF THE MOOSE HUNTER 
The great moose hunter, MKuke-shan 
(expert in gambling with the sticks) traveled 
great distances in search of game but after 
hunting a moose and killing it, he took only 
the paunch which he filled with blood. This 
he boiled down into a thick soup which was 
considered a great luxury. 
He was continually thirsty because he 
traveled far and fast and he cautioned his 
wife always to have water haskets filled when 
he was expected to return — and these he 
emptied at once. 
During one of his trips the wife neglected 
to go for water, and when he was returning 
she heard him shouting for water. In her 
confusion she answered ‘‘No water!’’ as she 
grabbed the baskets and hurried to the 
spring. Then he was carried up to the Sun 
and his voice grew fainter and fainter until. 
it was lost in the distance, for he was a child 
of the Sun and was always thirsty, and he 
could live on earth only as long as he could 
find plenty of water. He can be seen in the 
Sun, but no one must look at him because he 
may throw down blood from the paunch 
which he carries, and thus cause hemorrhage 
and fatal sickness. 
THE MONKEY WOMAN, PIGHISH 
Besides having a knowledge of the 
animals common to the country, the 
Kitksan held a general belief in mythical 
beings half human and half animal that 
lived in the depth of the forest, the 
inaccessible mountain tops and _ the 
waters. Such beings had been seen in 
early days by certain individuals, and 
in most instances the meetings had been 
productive of great good fortune. Rep- 
resentations of these beings had been 
assumed as crests and their supposed 
likenesses were displayed on heraldic col- 
umns, as well as upon ceremonial dress 
and paraphernalia. 
Pighish, who was seen first by one of the 
Kish-hasht clan, was an animal closely asso- 
ciated with the land ‘otter, although very 
human in appearance, and spoken of -to-day 
as a monkey woman. The presence of 
Pighish was indicated by the cry of a child, 
