boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 373 



tinued to pursue them; and when they were near Dundas Island, only 

 one canoe succeeded in making its escape. 



Then the young men came back, cut off the heads of those they 

 had slain in the canoes, and their father cut off the heads of those 

 slain in the house; and when the ten young men came back from their 

 pursuit, they had four poles put up in their canoe, and many heads 

 were hanging from those poles. They sang a song of victory, which 

 they had learned the night when their enemies came into their house. 

 Their father also sang a song of victory; and the young men took 

 the bodies of those they had slain and threw them on the beach, 

 which was full of bodies. They took their scalps; and after they 

 had done so, they took all the skulls and threw them into the creek 

 that ran by the side of the fort. They took all the canoes, crest 

 helmets, decorated daggers, decorated armor, coppers, and elk skins 

 of their enemies. 



Now, the father of the ten brave young men wanted to invite the 

 chiefs of the Tsimshian. Therefore five of them went as his messen- 

 gers. They went up the Skeena River as far as G'itslala'sEr. Then 

 all the Tsimshian chiefs came down the river. They all came on 

 the same day; and when they arrived in front of the house and all 

 the canoes of the chiefs were there on the water, the ten young men 

 sang their song of victory, wearing their garments and scalps. After 

 they had danced on the beach, they called each chief's canoe one by 

 one, and the chief saw the bodies of the slain enemies on the beach, 

 and they also saw the skulls in the creek. 



When they had entered, they were surprised to see the strong fort 

 that they had built. The eldest son gave a great feast. He gave 

 canoes to each chief, which they had taken from those who had been 

 slam, and he gave everything that they had taken; and he took the 

 name Wi-ho'°m (Great Bountiful One). After he had given his pres- 

 ents to each chief, he said, "Chiefs, I want you to tell your warriors 

 to come with me to Dundas Island to find the people who oppressed 

 us for so many years." 



Then all the chiefs consented, and ten canoes went to make war 

 upon the Tlingit. They searched their hiding-places on the island, 

 but only a few men remained. There were only women and children. 

 They took these as captives and came back after a few days. 



In winter all the tribes of the Tsimshian moved down to Metla- 

 kahtla, each tribe going to its own old village. Then they took back 

 the country from the Nass to the Skeena River, and the Tsimshian 

 did not allow any Tlingit on this side. 



Wi-ho'°m gave many feasts and came to be a great chief. In the 

 last feast that he gave they carved his picture on a rock at Lax- 

 kspaxl. Now all the Tsimshian were able again to move from 



