300 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ann. 31 



her parents made a little hole in her lip. They would call all men 

 and women of their exogamic group, and the mother of the girl would 

 give all she had to the husband's relatives, the aunts of the child; 

 and when the child was grown up, they enlarged the lip-hole; and 

 when she was full-grown, the lip-hole was larger than her mouth. 

 The highest chieftainess had a lip-hole larger than that of any other 

 woman. This was a sign that she was of high rank. She was the 

 wife of a great chief or the relative of a great chief.) 



Now Halus threw his sling-stone. Before he threw it, he swung 

 his sling over his own head, and the stone slipped off from his sling 

 and went through the lip-hole of his mother-in-law. Then all the 

 people shouted and clapped their hands. Next Tsauda stood up 

 and said, "Let me try to use my poor sling!" So all the people were 

 quiet. He took up his sling and a smooth pebble out of his bag. 

 He threw it, and there was a large hole through the rock, and the 

 way was opened for them to pass through. All the canoes went up 

 through it. 



Before they reached then fishing-camp, the chief said, ''I need that 

 copper yonder on the top of the high mountain." Therefore all the 

 canoes assembled at the foot of the high mountain. 



(That large copper was hanging on top of that high mountain. For 

 many years they had seen it, but they could not get it. Many daring 

 men tried to take it, but they all perished, because no one was able 

 to climb the slippery rock. Copper was then very expensive among 

 the people. Therefore they tried over and over again, and they 

 could not get it because the rocks were so slippery and the top of the 

 mountain was very cold. Therefore all the brave men perished on 

 that mountain.) 



Now Halus was ready. He stood up in the canoe and took out 

 his sling and a stone, ready to throw it. Then Tsauda blew out some 

 water from his mouth, and said, "Let Halus's sling-stone go through 

 the bow of his father-in-law's canoe!" and when Halus swung his 

 s ling , the stone slipped out and went through the bow of his father- 

 in-law's canoe. Then all the people clapped their hands and shouted 

 as much as they could. Now Halus had twice disappointed them. 

 They said, "Oh, oh, you clumsy one!" Halus felt very much 

 ashamed, and his wife cried, and also his mother-in-law was much 

 ashamed; and Halus was angry and threw away his magic sling. 

 Tsauda put a stone in his sling, stood up on a box, and threw a stone. 

 It hit the large copper on the top of the high mountain: "Damnum!" 

 Then all the people shouted for joy, and the great copper came 

 sliding down slowly. Then all the men and women stepped forward 

 and blew water out of their mouths against the copper, and said, 

 "Toward northwest!" and "Toward the rivers!" and when the men 

 and women spoke these words, the large copper, which was sliding 



