192 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ANN. 31 



musl Look right into the fire. At the end of the three days they are 

 allowed to do as they like. This is the end. 



26. The Bear Who Married a Woman 1 



Once upon a time there lived a widow of the tribe of the G"i-spa-x-la ' °ts. 

 Many men tried to marry her daughter, but she declined them all. 

 The mother said, "When a man comes to marry you, feel of the palms 

 of his hands. If they are soft, decline him; if they are rough, accept 

 him." She meant that she wanted to have for a son-in-law a man 

 skillful in building canoes. Her daughter obeyed her commands, and 

 refused the wooings of all young men. One night a youth came to 

 her bed. The palms of his hands were very rough, and therefore she 

 accepted his suit. Early in the morning, however, he had suddenly 

 disappeared, even before she had seen him. When her mother arose 

 early in the morning and went out, she found a halibut on the beach 

 in front of the house, although it was midwinter. The following 

 evening the young man came back, but disappeared again before the 

 dawn of the day. In the morning the widow found a seal in front 

 of the house. Thus they lived for some time. The young woman 

 never saw the face of her husband ; but every morning she found an 

 animal on the beach, every day a larger one. Thus the widow came 

 to be very rich. 



She was anxious to see her son-in-law, and one day she waited until 

 he arrived. Suddenly she saw a red bear (mES-o'l) emerge from the 

 water. He carried a whale on each side, and put them down on the 

 beach. As soon as he noticed that he was observed, he was trans- 

 formed into a rock, which may be seen up to this day. He was a 

 supernatural being of the sea. 



27. The Prince Who Was Taken Away by the Spring Salmon 2 



There were two towns in the canyon of G'itslala'sEr. One was 

 called G'itxts !a'xl, the other one G - i-lax-ts !a'ks. They were on Skeena 

 River, and each of these towns had a chief. Toward the end of whiter 

 the people had spent all their provisions. There was a famine, and 

 the people were in want of food. At that time a famine was among 

 the people almost every whiter. 



The great chief of the G'itxtsla'xl had one young son. His father 

 loved him very much. Therefore he bought for him a small slave-boy 

 to stay with him whenever his parents had to leave him for a while. 

 The slave-boy loved his young master. In those days they would 

 not give much food to a young prince, and this prince just chewed 

 the fat of mountain goats, and every day he woidd make nice arrows. 



1 Translated from Boas 1, p. 290. Notes, p. 747. ' Notes, p. 770. 



