boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 345 



50. Six Hunters ' 



Six men went out hunting. They kept their provisions in a small 

 hut made of fir twigs. In the evening, when they came back, they 

 found that a squirrel had stolen them. They became angry, caught the 

 squirrel, and threw it into the fire, so that its tail was burned. Then 

 they lay down to sleep. On the following morning they found them- 

 selves, together with their six dogs, in a deep pit, and unable to climb 

 out of it. Since they were very hungry, they killed one of their dogs 

 and threw it into the fire to roast it. Suddenly they saw the dog alive 

 on top of the pit. When the men saw this, five jumped into the fire. 

 Only one, the son of a chief, waited patiently for his death. 



Suddenly he saw the others standing on the rim of the pit, and he 

 asked them to go home and to request his friends to help him out. 



In the evening he lay down to sleep. Suddenly he heard a voice, 

 and saw a Mouse, who asked him to follow her. He arose, and the 

 Mouse led him into a house, in which he found an old woman, the 

 Squirrel. She said, "It is fortunate that you did not jump into the 

 fire, else you would be dead. All your companions are dead now. 

 When you wake up in the morning, take the narrow trail that you will 

 see. Do not take the wide one." 



The following morning, when he awoke, he found himself in the 

 forest, and saw the bones of his companions lying on the ground. He 

 took the narrow path, and arrived at home. When he told his adven- 

 tures, the people became angry, and resolved to kill the squirrels. 

 They caught all of them except one female, and killed them. Then 

 the only surviving Squirrel wept, and cried, "After four days your 

 whole town shall be burned ! ' ' and so it happened. Only the house of 

 the young chief was spared. 



60. The Land Otter 2 



When a person capsizes, the Land Otter people catch him, and he 

 himself is transformed into a land otter. 



Once upon a time there was a man who claimed that even if he 

 should capsize, he would never yield to the Land Otters. One day 

 when he was traveling with Ms sister his canoe capsized. He swam 

 ashore, and saw a fire, which seemed to move away from him all the 

 time. He did not follow it, but started a fire where he had gone 

 ashore. While he was sitting there warming his back, he heard a 

 canoe. He just turned around, and immediately looked back toward 

 the woods. The canoe came ashore, but he did not move. The people 

 came up to his fire. Immediately he got up, went down to the canoe, 

 and threw all the paddles into the fire. Immediately these were trans- 



' Translated from Boas 1, p. 304— Notes, p. 861. 

 » Translated from Boas 1, p. 290.— Notes, p. 862. 



