boasj COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 745 



its head when he enters the door. 'Whenever lie comes back from hunting, he speaks 

 to the image and answers himself, saying that the woman can not come out because 

 the yarn is twisted around her fingers. Thehunters pass the hunting-hut and discover 

 what has happened. Two sisters who are scolded by their mother run away, reach 

 the hut, and through a knot-hole see the woman seated inside. They go in, and dis- 

 cover that it is not a woman, but a wood-carving, that is sitting there. When the 

 hunter comes back, they laugh. He discovers them and gives them to eat. The 

 elder sister eats too much, while the younger one eats sparingly. He marries the 

 younger one, who makes him promise to destroy the wooden figure Ts 152. 



The Bellacoola version is as follows : 



A man named Qasa'na, who consists of one-half of a body having only one leg, one 

 arm, half a head, and so on, lives in Kilte'il. He carves a woman of wood, givesher 

 a hat, and calls her QulE'ms. She is placed in front of a loom. A chief near Bella 

 bella sends his two daughters to marry Qasa'na. They look through a knot-hole an< 

 see the figure in front of the loom. They discover that the figure is made of wood 

 take off the hat, and upset the figure. When Qasa'na comes home, he scolds the 

 woman. The girls laugh and are discovered. He marries them, and later on al 

 return to Bellabella BC 5.256. 



Among the Kwakiutl and Nootka the story of the alder woman 

 serves as the introduction to stories that have no inner connection 

 with this incident. 



A man called K!wadza'<~e (Sitting On Earth) carves a woman of alder wood and 

 takes her for his wife. He hangs bark of yellow cedar over her hands, making it 

 appear that she is weaving. The Bear appears, and takes the man over ten mountains 

 to visit his own village. They pass the house of Mouse, are invited in, and among 

 other things the man is given mountain-goat wool. Thus it is known that blanket* 

 ■may be woven of wool. They pass Bluejay's house, are invited in, and are given 

 berries. For this reason berries are eaten. Finally they reach the house of the Wolves. 

 An old woman advises him not to enter the chief's house. He disobeys, is eaten by 

 the Wolves, who, however, restore him to life Ne 10.361. 



A better version of this story is given in K 11. 



K!wadza /£ e goes out to get cedar bark. While he is peeling off the bark, a voice calls 

 him and invites him to go to his house, and asks him where his wife is. He replies, 

 "My wife can not speak, for she is carved out of alder wood and she has hair of yellow 

 cedar bark." The rest of the story refers to the visit to the house of the supernatural 

 being K 11.53. 



Another Kwakiutl story is more closely related to the Tsimshian 

 story here discussed. 



A chief has two girl slaves who are sent t<> bathe. When they come back, one of 

 them falls into the fire and dies. The other one tries to commit suicide in the woods. 

 After going up a river for four days, she finds a house and sees two images of women 

 in front of piles of mountain-goat wool and spindles. A hunter enters, who asks the 

 figures to speak to him. He divides meat and places it in front of the figures. When 

 he goes out hunting, the woman roasts the meat. When he returns, he thinks the 

 figures are coming to life. He brings salmon, and the woman splits the salmon. He 

 believes the figures are beginning to work. On the following day she throws them 

 into the fire, and the man believes that they had killed each other out of jealousy. 

 Then the woman appears, and claims that she was personified in the images K 10.122. 



A woman scolds her two daughters, who run away, and reach two houses built close 

 together. The elder sister enters one of the houses. The younger one looks through 



