boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 335 



and said, " Now, great shaman, open your mouth and eat this !" The 

 man opened his mouth and ate slowly. Only One pulled out the 

 other piece and gave to the second man, saying, "Now, great shaman, 

 eat this !" Then he pulled out the last piece and gave to the last one, 

 and he said, "Now, great shaman, open your mouth and eat tliis meat 

 of a corpse ! ' ' and after he had done so, the three men died right there. 

 Then all the people were afraid of him. 



Only One's fame was spread over all the villages. Many years 

 passed, and he was always wandering about doing his work. One 

 winter while he was seated in his house, one of his supernatural 

 powers came to him and foretold that three messengers would come 

 in the evening from another chief, Bagus, 1 whose son had been sick 

 for a long time. "There is not a shaman who can cure him. You 

 shall go with them, and I shall be with you and help you, but do not 

 leave your chamber- vessel. Take it along when you go ; and as often 

 as you feel that you are almost unconscious, take some of the urine 

 in your mouth and blow it into the air above your head, until you 

 arrive in the house of the chief Bagus." 



Late in theevening the great shaman called all his nephews, andasked 

 them, "Who will go with me tonight when the messengers come to 

 take me away from here?" One of the young men said, "I will go 

 with you, uncle." When all the people of the village were asleep, 

 about midnight, the messengers came in. Only One awoke when they 

 came. They called him, and he went down with them. Only One saw 

 a new canoe on the beach. They all went aboard, and Only One was 

 ready. He wore his crown of grizzly-bear claws, and he held his live 

 rattle in his right hand, and his root-basket chamber-vessel hi his 

 left. Ho also wore his apron. Then the three messengers said, "Lie 

 down in the canoe !" but he did not do so, because his supernatural power 

 told him to keep awake, lest he die, because these messengers were 

 dangerous animals. Before daylight they reached the front of Chief 

 Bagus's town. While they were on then way, and before they reached 

 the town, Only One felt that he was losing consciousness. Then he 

 took the urine out of the basket and blew it into the air, as his super- 

 natural power had ordered liim, and his heart became strong again; 

 but the three men put their hands to their noses because they could 

 not endure the smell. Twice these three men tried to make Only One 

 unconscious, but on account of the smell they were in great fear of him. 

 They were afraid they would die before they reached home. As soon 

 as the canoe touched the shore, the shaman jumped ashore and walked 

 up to the house of Chief Bagus, led by the three messengers. He 

 entered there, and the sick prince of Bagus lay there ; and an old shaman 

 was seated by the foot of the prince, holding his rattle in his hand. 



i Kwakiutl, BekIus ("man of the woods"), a being supposed to takeaway hunters (seep. 476). 



