boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 247 



grizzly bear's heart, and it lay there dead. The old hunter said, "I 

 killed it with one shot," for he heard the grizzly bear groan, and after 

 a short time the groan ceased. He said again, " Now it is dead, for 

 I hit the heart." 



Then his wife came out and made fun of him, and said, "Oh, yes! 

 you killed it!" The blind man said, "Yes, I killed it." Then his 

 wife laughed at him. The woman knew that he had killed the 

 grizzly bear, yet she did not want to give him any of the grizzly-bear 

 meat. Therefore she said to her blind husband that he had missed 

 it. She thought that if her husband should die soon, she might marry 

 a man better than he. 



Late in the afternoon that woman said to her son, " Let us go across, 

 my son, to get bark! We shall be back late in the evening." Then 

 they went to where the great grizzly bear lay dead; and when they 

 came'there, she said to the boy, "Now, my son, don't tell your father 

 that he killed this grizzly bear! You and I will eat its meat and fat." 

 Then she cut it up and filled her canoe twice, and late in the evening 

 she came home. She had washed the arrow thoroughly. The blind 

 man asked, "Did you find my arrow, my dear?" The boy said, 

 "Yes, father!" — "Then bring it to me!" Then his wife brought it 

 to him, and said, "Here is your arrow with which you shot the old 

 log over there!" Then the old hunter took his good and successful 

 arrow, felt of it and smelled of it, and said, "Yes, I know that I 

 have killed the animal. I can smell the fat." 



Then his wife was angry. He said again, "O my successful arrow! 

 I have smelled the fat of the great grizzly bear." 



Every morning she went out to gather bark with her son. She 

 built a great fire and cooked as much of the grizzly-bear meat as she 

 wanted, and she and her son ate all they wanted. Late in the evening 

 every day she came home. She told her son many times not to tell 

 his father that he had killed the great grizzly bear, lest he should eat 

 the meat and it would all be consumed, and they would die of star- 

 vation. She continued, "Let him die, for he is old and blind and 

 of no use." 



The boy, however, did not listen to what she told him every day, 

 for he loved his old father very much. He was always with him in 

 his poor bed, and slept with him often. One night they went to bed 

 early, and the boy whispered to his old father, " Father, you killed 

 that great grizzly bear a few days ago. Here is a little meat which 

 I hid behind my ear, for mother does not want me to tell you that 

 we have plenty, lest you eat of the meat and fat. We always eat 

 meat and fat every day. My mother makes a large fire out there, 

 and she cooks the meat and fat, and she said that she would whip 

 me if I should tell you. Here, I will give you this meat! Eat, my 

 father! I don't want you to die! Do eat this, father!" 



