boas] COMPAEATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 741 



youngest, whom the visitor chases about in the house. In the morning the boy 

 succeeds in making his escape, crosses a mountain, and comes to a lake. Two trees 

 forming a fork extend over the water. He hides in the crotch. The pursuer sees 

 his reflection in the lake, jumps in and the man sings a north song, making the water 

 freeze. He builds a fire over the monster's head. The ashes flying up from it turn 

 into mosquitoes Kai 265. 



Further references to tales accounting for the origin of mosquitoes, 

 flies, or vermin, from the ashes of an ogre, will be found in Oskar 

 Dahnhardt, "Natursagen," Vol. Ill, pp. 151 et seq. See, in addition 

 to these, Tl 214. 



A doubtful Kwakiutl story (5.168) belongs here. The Deer marries the Bear 

 Woman. They have a son and several daughters. The Deer and his son go sealing, 

 and boil the seal blood in a wooden kettle. The Deer gives it to his daughters, who 

 are killed by it. The Deer and his son are pursued by the Bear, who destroys the 

 whole village. They ask the trees whether their roots reach way down into the 

 ground. They are sent to the yew tree, and climb up. The Bear asks the trees 

 where the fugitives have gone; and when they laugh at her, she upturns them. She 

 is unable to upset the yew tree, and digs a hole, which fills with water. There she 

 sees the reflection of Deer and his son, and jumps in. Deer calls the cold wind; the 

 water freezes and holds the Bear. They start a fire ove'r her and kill her. 



I have always been under the impression that this story was made 

 up by the narrator, of other elements with which he was familiar. 



I do not discuss the various incidents of this story, which are 

 rather widely distributed. The visit of the monster occurs in the 

 Chinook tale Chin 31. The sucking-out of the brains through the 

 ear is a prominent feature in the Kwakiutl tale 10.45; and the incident 

 of the pursuer seeing the reflection of the fugitives in the water and 

 jumping in is of very wide distribution. 1 All these stories, however, 

 are quite different from the one discussed here. 



16. The Hunters 

 (a) Tsimshian Version (p. 145) 

 This rather important story contains the most prominent incident 

 of the well-known Tlingit story of Kats! The particular develop- 

 ment of the plot, however, has not been recorded from any other 

 region. 



Ten men and their wives go out hunting. One after another goes out. He first 

 meets a large porcupine, which he kills and hangs on a tree. Then he kills a white 

 she-bear. He sees a village in a valley, to which he slides down on his snowshoes. 

 Through a knot-hole he sees a young woman, who calls him in. Then the chief sends 

 for him. The people take the weapons of their guest. They give him to eat, and on 

 the following morning grizzly bears appear. He is sent out to kill them, but the peo- 

 ple have exchanged his good weapons for poor ones, and he is killed Tsl49. Thebody 

 is cut in two and hung up in the corner of the house. 2 Finally the youngest brother 

 goes out. He does not touch the porcupine. He shoots the she-bear and touches the 

 white fur on her belly. The bear is transformed into a woman, who warns him. She 

 gives him the two dogs Red and Spots, who become large when thrown down on the 



' See, for instance, Sk 329; BC 84; BC 5.253; K 5.168; K Boss 5.373; Nu 5.114, Co 5.66, 80; Sh 753; also 

 Jones. Ojibwa Texts, 117. 

 2This introduction is simihr to Chin 17, the tale of brothers who make a mistake by killing pheasants. 



