boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 259 



the relatives of the murderers of the relatives of the young chief. 

 The chief and his people staid behind the house, waiting until their ene- 

 mies were asleep. They were very merry in the evening, laughing and 

 shouting for joy, and making fun of the relatives whom their grand- 

 father had destroyed on the battle-field years ago. The young chief 

 heard all they said, and heard them laughing. At midnight the war- 

 riors came in one by one; and when they were all in the house, the 

 chief ordered his men to stand each by one of the sleepers ; and when 

 they were ready, the chief shouted, "Now slay the murderers!' 

 Then his men killed all of them, and not one of them escaped. Only 

 one slave-woman with her little daughter was saved. She was a 

 relative of the young chief, and she was living in a little hut behind 

 her master's house, where she was weeping. She made her escape 

 early in the morning. 



Early in the morning the four princes sang their war-song, and 

 the slave-woman knew her relatives' waraong. After they had sung 

 twice, the slave-woman came out with her little daughter, and said, 

 "You are my relatives, my dears. I know your war-song." The 

 young chief asked her, "What is your name?" and the woman 

 replied, "My name was Wl-n !e'°x. I am the younger sister of Princess 

 Daul, whom my uncle Nes-wa-na'° took away from here to some other 

 place ; and these people took me captive, and I have been their slave 

 for many years. They intended to kill me when they put up a totem- 

 pole in winter." Then the four princes raised their voices and wept; 

 and after they had wept, the young chief said to her, "My mother's 

 name is Daul. She is still alive. She is married to a great chief's 

 son in a Haida village. She is your sister. She had six cliildren — four 

 boys and two girls — and we are her children." Then the poor slave- 

 woman embraced each of them. 



The young chief asked her whether any of the men remained in the 

 village; and she said, "Only one old chief remains, the one who de- 

 stroyed all your grandfathers in battle." She asked, furthermore, 

 "Is my uncle alive?" They replied, "As soon as we came home to 

 Ids house he died, after having spoken to us, and I succeeded to his 

 place; and he charged me to take revenge on these murderers who 

 destroyed his brother and his people. Therefore I have come across 

 these mountains. All my companions are my people." 



After this they had a long conversation, and the young cluef said 

 to his men, "Now cut off the heads of those whom you have killed!" 

 They did as their young chief had told them. And he said also, " Take 

 their scalps!" and they cut down the bodies on each side of the 

 chest down to the belly and pulled down the skin between their legs 

 as a sign that the relatives of those slain should not take revenge in 

 the future. When they had done so, they put each of the bodies 

 on a pole and placed them upright along the camping-ground. Then 



