boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 253 



39. The Drifting Log 1 



There was a great war at G'its lEmga/lon between two clans — the 

 GispawadwE'da and the Eagle Clan. The Eagle people were defeated 

 by the GispawadwE'da. There was a great battle on that day. Many 

 Eagle people were killed by their enemies. The last day they had 

 a very hot battle, and nearly all the Eagle people were destroyed, 

 and then - chief fled with his young niece. The chief's name was 

 Nes-wa-na'°, and the girl's name was Daul. They crossed the high 

 mountains between Skeena and Nass Rivers. Many days they 

 walked along the trail; and when they arrived at a village on the 

 upper Nass River, at their Eagle relatives on Nass River, they were 

 received gladly, and Nes-wa-na'° became their chief. 



In the spring, when the people were expected to come olachen 

 fishing, they moved down to then fishing-ground and camped on 

 Sandbar Camp. The olachen came up the river, and all the people 

 were very busy. Then the children were always in the way of the 

 fishermen, and some of the children were hurt and died. Some fell 

 into the water and were drowned, and so on. 



One day the new chief invited all his people to a council to talk 

 about the children — how they could keep them safely in an empty 

 house, and how some one should take good care of them. On the 

 following day the children were gathered together in the new chief's 

 house, but the boys were always fighting with the girls. Therefore 

 another day they separated them, the boys by themselves, and the 

 girls by themselves. 



A great number of girls went and found a hollow log lying above 

 high-water mark. Their parents had chosen the princess Daul to 

 take care of them, and all the girls loved her very much. They 

 went into the hollow log and played that it was their house. They 

 started a fire in it and ate there, and their parents carried great 

 quantities of provisions into the small log; and they had many gar- 

 ments of black and arctic fox, martens, raccoons, weasels, and all 

 kinds of costly garments. They staid there a long time, while the 

 people were working, and all the children loved the young princess as 

 children love their mother. 



One night the tide was higher than it had been for many years, 

 and the high tide carried away the large hollow log from its place 

 while the children were asleep in it. The log floated out to sea with 

 many children in it. Early the next morning the princess awoke and 

 went out and saw that the log had drifted away. 



Before the log had drifted away, a young prince had given her a 

 young eagle as a present. She loved the young eagle, and tamed it, 

 and the young eagle learned to understand her words. Then she 



