boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 371 



was not many years before the Tlingit attacked these people, and 

 those who lived in the fortress were ready for them. Then the chief 

 said to the young man, "My son, take my only daughter and flee 

 with her." Therefore the young man took her to a place above the 

 creek K-t!ad. 



As soon as these two young people had left the fort, it was attacked, 

 and there was a great battle. Again the Tlingit were victorious; and 

 not one man escaped, only these two young people who had left before 

 the battle. The Tlingit were stronger than all the other tribes, and 

 they took the Tsimshian villages, fishing-grounds, and hunting- 

 grounds as far as Nass River and Skeena River, although these two 

 rivers belonged to the Tsimshian. 



The Tlingit made villages on Dundas Island; and whenever they 

 saw smoke ascending on the mainland, they went with many canoes 

 and attacked the people, and all the Tsimshian were in great distress. 



Many years passed that way. None of the Tsimshian could go 

 up to Nass River, because they were too much afraid of the Tlingit. 



Now, let us turn to the two young people who had fled from Beaver 

 Fort many years ago. As soon as they arrived at the lak# of K-t!ad, 

 the young man married the girl, and they had a good home on the 

 lake. They lived there many years, and had ten children, all boys. 

 Their father taught them how to use their weapons, how to be suc- 

 cessful, and how to keep themselves clean, and how to do things in 

 the right way. Thus the ten young men became healthy and strong. 

 They were very good-looking. 



When the young men were full-grown, their father moved down to 

 the mouth of K-t!ad Creek, and they camped there. The father was 

 named Aksk; and as they were in camp there, he said to his sons, 

 "Now, children, I want to take revenge on those who burned your 

 grandfathers' Beaver Fort. Therefore go up and cut down fresh fir 

 trees, and bring all the pitch that you can find, and bring fine dry 

 sand." 



Then the young men went and brought what their father had 

 asked for. He made a great heavy gate of the fresh fir wood. He 

 cut the trees the right length, joined and nailed them together. After 

 he had clone so, he covered them with pitch and threw the dry sand 

 over it. Then they cut some more fir trees and nailed them over the 

 other ones, and covered the whole with pitch and sand. He gave it 

 four coats. This gate was so heavy that not one of the young men 

 was able to lift it by the corner. Only the four eldest of the young 

 men were able to lift it. 



One day they launched two canoes and moved down to K-xIen, 

 one of their deserted villages. There they built a large square house; 

 and they put around it a stockade of fresh firs, making a double wall. 

 Then they made a floor high up in the house. A little stream of 



