172 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ANN. 31 



held a large seal in its mouth; and these men in the canoe said that 

 that Otter was then- prince, the son of a great princess, and the people 

 in the village told them that they had not known about it. 1 



After they had found out who had killed Prince Otter, they went 

 home and told the chief. The mother of Prince Otter faulted on 

 account of her deep sorrow, for she had lost her beloved one who 

 carried her across the sea and saved her. So the princess died of 

 sorrow. And the other chief came to the grandfather of Prince Otter 

 with his people and many costly things — costly coppers, slaves, 

 canoes, elk skins, and so on — to atone for Prince Otter, whom they 

 had killed a few days before; and the grandfather of Prince Otter 

 was full of deep sorrow because his daughter had died. 



This is the reason why the people were afraid to leave girls alone 

 in the woods, because the bad Otter might deceive them. 



22. The Widow and her Daughter 2 



There was a poor widow in a Tsunshian tribe who had a young 

 daughter. All the people moved from the old village of Metlakahtla, 

 going to Nass River for the fishing-season. Then a strong wind blew 

 against the canoes. They could not go ahead on account of the 

 north wind, which blew against them. They camped often, and this 

 widow and her young daughter could not go on at all. They were 

 left way behind the canoes, but they were still going on; and after 

 all the canoes had left her behind, she camped at the foot of a high rock 

 on a camping-ground. While they were in camp there, there was a 

 severe storm during the night, They built a hut to shelter themselves 

 during the stormy nights and days. 



The first night when they were in camp the widow slept on one side 

 of the •fire, and her daughter lay down on the other side of the fire. 

 At midnight some one came in to the place where the young woman 

 was, and touched her, and said, "Shall I marry you ?" and the young 

 woman agreed; 3 and when the man came to her, she felt that some- 

 thing stung her body. Before daylight he went out again. The 

 stoim increased day by day, and the man came every night, and the 

 young woman felt something like nettles stinging her body. 



Every morning they found a partridge at her mother's door, and 

 there was always sufficient fuel for them. One night when he came 

 to her, he said, "We shall have a son, and he shall be a great hunter. 

 There shall be no one like him, neither before nor hereafter, and I 

 shall always be with him." 



i This is the reason why the people made great feasts when a chief's child was born and received a name 

 to let everybody know about it.— Henry W. Tate. 



2 Notes, pp. 747, 750. 



'■> Original: "DEm na'konut a awa'nt dzE g-a'wun?" Ada gi'°nsgA su-pIa'sEm hana'gaasnli'atga a 

 nE-sta'kst, ada hi-na'ka su-p!a'sEm ylo'°ta a awa'°t. 



