280 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ann. 31 



they would all come home. Some of the male Bears would not come 

 home with the rest, and some one said, "My companion's fishing-line 

 is broken. " Then a very old Bear would say, "Oh, perhaps he used 

 the common bushes, and therefore it was broken. Cranberry bushes 

 are the best for making fishing-lines. " After he had been away for 

 two or three days, he would come back home downcast. This was 

 because some person had killed a Black Bear near a brook. 



Some female Black Bear would do the same. When the rest came 

 home in the evening, some one would say, "My companion's 

 carrying-strap tore;" and after she had been away several days in 

 the woods, she came home slowly. 



Now, it was late in the fall before the animals went into their 

 dens. Then the. Black Bear chief invited his whole tribe in; and 

 when all the people were in the house, he asked each family of his 

 people, and said, "In what den will you lie down this winter?" 

 Then one male Bear would answer, ' ' We shall lie down in the den of 

 So-and-So," and he mentioned the place where the den was. And 

 after he had asked every family for their dens, then he turned to his 

 eldest son, who was married to Part Summer. The Bear chief said, 

 "Now I will ask you, my daughter-in-law, and my elder son shall 

 answer me, Tn what den are you going to lie down this winter?' " 

 Then his son replied, "We shall lie down in the den of Mountain 

 Beautiful." Then the princess said, "Oh, it is very easy for my 

 younger brother's dogs, Red and Spots!" Therefore her husband 

 asked, "What do you say to the den of Mountain Side?" — "Oh, it 

 is easy for the dogs Red and Spots!" He mentioned all the dens he 

 knew in every place; and the woman always said that it was easy for 

 her younger brother's dogs, Red and Spots. 



Therefore the chief said again to his daughter-in-law, "Do you 

 want the difficult den Both Sides Rock Slide or Both Sides Drum ? " 

 This the princess accepted. She said, "That is the den that I wanted. 

 It is difficult to get at. " 



I Tor father-in-law questioned her, and said, "How many brothers 

 have you, daughter?" She replied quickly, "I have four brothers." 

 The chief asked, "Are they hunters?" The princess replied, "Yes, 

 they are. All of them are very expert hunters; therefore I do not 

 like to choose an easy den to lie in this winter with my husband, lest 

 they should kill us easily. " 



The chief said, "Now I will ask you just one more question. How 

 many mats has your eldest brother?" The princess replied, "My 

 eldest brother's mats are sixty." Then sixty Black Bears hung 

 their heads, and the tears ran down their noses. "Sixty mats" meant 

 that her eldest brother had lain sixty times twenty days by himself, 

 using one cedar-bark mat, and that ho had taken a bath every second 

 day, that is, ten baths in each twenty days; and after each two 



