176 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ANN. 31 



Soon the Wolverene was tired out, and climbed another tree. The 

 young man stood at the foot of it, and said, "If you don't tell me the 

 truth this time, I shall shoot you right off!" Therefore the Wolverene 

 was very much troubled, and said, "I shall let you know my secret. 

 You must eat a small piece of blue hellebore root; and when you 

 bathe in the morning, use the hellebore roots to rub your body with. 

 Then you will be successful." But the young man did not believe 

 what the Wolverene told him, and said, "I don't believe what you 

 tell me now. Tell me the truth, or I shall kill you right away!" 



Then the Wolverene said, "You must take skunk-cabbage roots 

 and eat a little of them, and use some when you bathe, and rub them 

 over your body, as you did with the hellebore roots." 



The young man had not much confidence, but he let him go once 

 more. As soon as Wolverene had run a little distance, he began to 

 laugh again. 



Now, the young man pursued him again. He ran faster than the 

 Wolverene, so the Wolverene ran up a tree, and the young man 

 spanned his bow and had his arrow ready in his hand. He pointed 

 the arrow at the Wolverene without saying a word to him. Now, he 

 said, ' ' I shall shoot you right now. " But the Wolverene said, ' ' Wait, 

 I shall tell you!" but the young man would not listen. He said, 

 "I shall not wait any longer, because you have made fun of me three 

 times." Then the great Wolverene said, "You shall have my 

 secret now. It is the rotten fern (or qialu°gAn ?)." Then the Wolver- 

 ene began to cry, "Rotten fern!" and he went his way crying until 

 his voice was lost. 



Now, the young man went and repaired his traps and snares, and 

 he made many new traps and snares, and he went and searched for 

 some rotten fern (or qialu gAii ?). He found some and ate some; and 

 he used some while bathing in the morning, as the Wolverene had 

 told bun; and he came to be a great hunter, more successful than 

 he had been before; and when he went to see his traps and his 

 snares, behold ! every one had caught a marten or mink or weasel, and 

 many other good animals. He did so the whole year round, and in 

 the spring he built bear traps, and snares for grizzly bears, and traps 

 for wolverenes and wolves and all other kinds of animals, and he 

 became richer and richer. Many princesses wanted to marry him, and 

 many times he gave a great feast to the people because he was very 

 rich. He remained an expert hunter. 



Finally he married one of his uncle's younger daughters, and after 

 many days his wife had a little son. When the boy grew up, he 

 heard the people say outside, "There is a white she-bear coming down 

 on the ice of the Skeena River!" and the son of Devil's-Club Tree 

 look his spear and ran down. He saw the white she-bear coming 

 down the river on the ice; but before he was able to throw bis spear. 



