boas] DESCRIPTION OF THE TSIMSHIAN 445 



Town showed their overbearing by killing slaves and doing many 

 wicked tilings (1.243). 



People should not be too warlike. This is indicated by the uneasi- 

 ness felt by the Sun chief on account of the many wars waged by his 

 grandchildren (1.219). On account of their warlike character he 

 takes them up to heaven. 



Unrestrained vengeance for insults is not commendable. Thus the 

 warrior who takes revenge on all the people of a hostile clan is killed 

 (306 et seq.). The plot of the Gaud story (1.193 et seq.) is largely 

 based on tins idea, which, however, is treated differently in the story 

 of the Wolf Prince (317 et seq.) in which a man forgives his faithless 

 wife after killing her lover and is adopted by the lover's mother. 



Foolish people turn out of the house an old woman who comes to 

 deliver a message (N 123). Heaven resents noisy play on the street 

 at nighttime (125, N 95) and is annoyed by wailing (58). Heaven 

 punishes those who make fun of him. During a snowstorm a man 

 held up a salmon to the sky and cried, ''Shame on you for letting it 

 snow every day! " This act was punished by snowstorms that con- 

 tinued into the summer, while round about tlfe weather was good 

 (250). A boy who makes fun of the stars by saying, "You little 

 twinklers, you must feel cold! " is taken up by the stare and punishfld 

 (N 86). The overbearing pride of a man who has married a beautiful 

 woman is punished (299) ; and a girl who shows her pride by kicking 

 a snail and making fun of it is visited by the snail, who comes in the 

 form of a youth, and is then compelled to marry him (161). The 

 irascible husband who scolds Ins wife is punished by losing her (139). 



The irascible person who burns a frog, and tears his hat because it 

 drops into the water four times, is punished, and contrasted with his 

 friends who take the frog out of the fire and throw it into the bushes, 

 and who take the torn hat out of the water (261). 



Animals should not be scolded (278). The Grizzly Bear takes 

 revenge because he is called Drop Jaw (N 1 17, N 209) ; a Bear, because 

 a girl says that its dung is disgusting (1.147). 



Particularly reprehensible seems to be the maltreatment of animals 

 and of poor people. We have a number of stories in which we hear 

 about people who are punished because they maltreat animals, chil- 

 dren who' play with the kid of a mountain goat (132), others who 

 play with trout (1.243), men who play with a bullhead (291), a prince 

 who throws a frog into the fire and throws it back when it tries to 

 jump out (261), and a chief who tears off the fins of a fish (285). 

 Indiscri m inate slaughter of animals is not commendable (108). 



A chief who pretends that he wishes to feed his nephew and then 

 takes away his food is appropriately punished (226) ; and another one 

 who treats a stranger in the same way is punished for his cruelty (293). 



