BOAS] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 215 



put my horn spoon in my coffin, and my marten blanket, and my 

 fish-knife." 



After a short time she pretended to die. Then the whole tribe of 

 the chief assembled and cried for her. The people made a large box 

 to bury her. They put her into it, with two marten blankets and 

 one sea-otter garment, and also many dozens of beautiful horn 

 spoons, and with her fish-knife. They put the coffin on the tree on 

 the little island in front of the village. Now she pretended to lie 

 dead. 



For two nights the chief went to the little island, and sat right 

 under the coffin in which the chieftainess was lying, and wept. 

 While he was there, he saw grubs falling down from the cofhn. 

 Then the chief thought, "Her body is full of grubs," and this made 

 him cry bitterly ; but actually the chieftainess in the coffin was scraping 

 her horn spoon with her fish-knife, and the scrapings of the horn 

 spoon looked just like maggots. 



As soon as the chieftainess was in the coffin, the young man went 

 to her every night while the village people were all asleep. He went 

 over to the little island, climbed the tree, and kicked the cover off 

 the coffin, saying, "Let me in, ghost!" Then the chieftainess would 

 laugh in her coffin-bed, "Ha, ha! in your behalf I am pretending to 

 make grubs out of myself." Then she opened the cover of the coffin. 

 The man went in and lay down with her. The young man always 

 went up to her every night, but the great chief did not know about 

 it. He was still weeping, and no one could comfort him. 



One night another young man went to the little island where the 

 chief tainess was, and was sitting with his sweetheart under the chief- 

 tainess's coffin. Then they saw a young man coming to the place 

 where they were. They recognized the chief's nephew, who climbed 

 up to the chicftainess's coffin, kicked the cover, and said, "Let me 

 in, ghost !" and they heard the chieftainess laugh in her coffin. They 

 heard her reply, "Ha, ha! I am pretending to make grubs out of my- 

 self." Then they saw the young man going into the coffin, and 

 they heard them talking in the coffin. Before daylight the chief's 

 nephew came out of the coffin. 



Then they told the chief what they had seen; and he sent over his 

 two attendants to watch the chieftainess's coffin, and he gave them 

 this command: "If it is true, throw down the coffin." Therefore 

 the two attendants went to the island and watched the coffin; and 

 while the people of the village were asleep, they saw a man coming 

 over. They recognized the chief's nephew. He climbed the tree 

 to where the chieftainess lay; and as soon as he reached the top of 

 the tree, he kicked the coffin, saying, "Let me hi, ghost!" and they 

 heard the chief tainess laugh, and reply, "Ha, ha! I am pretending to 

 make grubs out of myself on your behalf." The attendants heard 



