uoas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 217 



them very much. Then his first wife was very jealous of the young 

 woman, and she tried in every way to iind fault with her. 



Finally the young woman gave birth to a boy, and the chief loved 

 her very much. The first wife was still trying to find fault with the 

 young woman. The child was growing up, and began to creep about; 

 and the chief loved the child's mother because she had borne a child. 



One day the four brothers came down again to visit their only 

 sister, the chief's wife, and brought her rich food — dried meat and 

 fat — and the chief welcomed his four brothers-in-law. After they 

 had been there some time, the chief asked the eldest of his brothers- 

 in-law kindly to gamble with him, and they played together on the 

 gambling-mat. The eldest brother took out a small leather bag 

 from his gambling-bag, containing red ocher, which they used in those 

 days to paint their faces. He took it out of his gambling-bag and 

 put it on his face. Now, the first wife of the chief saw this, and she 

 called a slave-girl, and sent to the man who had the red ocher. She 

 asked the slave-girl to tell him that she wanted some of the red ocher, 

 and she promised to meet him behind the house. Therefore the 

 slave-girl went to the eldest brother and told him what the chief- 

 tainess wanted; but the young man said to the slave-girl that he 

 did not want to comply and to do a wrong to Ins brother-in-law, so 

 the slave-girl went back and repeated to the chieftainess what he 

 had said. 



The chieftainess sent the slave-girl again to tell him that she wanted 

 some of the red ocher, and that she would meet him outside right away. 

 The slave-girl went again and whispered to the young man, and 

 repeated to him all the chieftainess had said. Then he said, "I will 

 give part of the red ocher to her, but I will not meet her;" and he 

 gave half of his red paint to her through the slave-girl. 



The woman took it, went out, and put the paint on her face. Then 

 she came again, and went to where her husband was sitting with his 

 young wife, in the rear of the house. She said, "Look here! Look 

 at my face! Your brother-in-law mocked me and just put the red 

 paint on my face." 1 Then the chief became very angry; and he said 

 to his attendants, "Shut the door, lock it, and slay the four brothers 

 in there, and throw them behind my house, outside." Therefore 

 his attendants killed them and threw their bodies behind the chief's 

 house, as he had ordered them to do. Then the young woman went 

 every morning to mourn for her four dear brothers, and the chief 

 now loved his former wife most. The chieftainess was very glad 

 now, because the chief loved her more than his young wife. The 

 young woman woke up very early, and carried her child along, going 

 behind the chief's house, where the bodies of her dead brothers were; 



i klA'i. am-t!a'- 



