boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 747 



The incident of the child that gouges out eyes occurs as part of 

 the Kaven legend of the Haida. 



Raven enters the skin of the new-born child of the daughter of the heavenly chief. 

 When everybody is asleep, he gouges out one eye of each person, bakes the eyes in 

 ashes, and eats them. An old woman observes what he is doing. The people sing 

 for him; and while they pass him along, one of them lets him fall. He drops into the 

 ocean Ska 111. 



In a Masset version the child is born by the heavenly chief's daughter after she 

 had swallowed a hemlock leaf. When the people are asleep, the child gouges out 

 their eyes. An old man observes what he is doing. The child roasts and eats the 

 eyes. After this has been repeated several nights, the chief breaks the stone floor of 

 his house and throws him down into the ocean Skgr 143 (see also p. 629). 



Stories of Animals or Supernatural Beings who Marry Girls 



(Nos. 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 26, 33, 35, 43, 45) 



One of the most characteristic types of Tsirnshian stories are tales 

 of animals or other beings who assume the shape of young men and 

 marry girls. They take them to their homes, and later on send them 

 back with their children. To this group belong the stories — 



The Spider and the Widow's Daughter (No. 19, p. 158). 



Prince Snail (No. 20, p. 161; see also note below; 1 Tlingit version 



Tl 175). 

 The Otter who Married the Princess (No. 21, p. 166; Kaigani 



version Kai 254). 

 The Widow and her Daughter (No. 22, p. 172). 

 The Mink who Married a Princess (No. 23, p. 177). 

 The Bear who Married a Woman (No. 26, p. 192). 

 The Princess and the Mouse (No. 33, p. 232). 



i The following version of this tale has been (aken from Franz Boas, Vocabularies of the Tlingit, Haida, 

 and Tsirnshian Languages (Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society, vol. xxix, p. 20o), Philadel- 

 phia, 1891. The Tsirnshian k'ii IlieSkeena Kiver , where [hey had -MU-'hl ilni.-n. Then they camped there 

 for ft while. There was the daughter of a chief who was very pat tieular w horn she should marry. At night 

 a good-looking young man came to her secretly and went where the chiefs daughter was. He told her 

 to run away with him, and she consented. Then they left. When they had reached his house, he. let her 

 stand outside, and he entered. Then his mother and father said to him, "Did you not get her, my dear?" 

 He replied, " She is standing outside." Then his sisters ran out. She accompanied them into the house. 

 Then they ate and were glad. In the morning a little old woman came. Her name was Mouse Woman. 

 She said, " Burn your ornaments!" The princess did so, and the little old person took themfrom the fire. 

 Then she said, "My dear, do you know who took you?" She replied, "No." She said, "The Snail." 

 Then the chief's daughter was very much afraid. Mouse Woman said, " Go, ran away! Do not run very 

 far, to the place where your parents are staying. Just walk on the trail back of the house. Where it goes 

 down, there is slime. Follow that road up the mountain and go across. That is where your parents 

 are staying on the beach." The chief's daughter did so. After a while she pretended to go out, but she 

 ran away. She went the way the little old woman had told her. After she had been away for some time, 

 her husband missed her. Then he knew that she had escaped. He called his whole great tribe together. 

 Then they pursued her. Just when the princess reached the top of the mountain she heard a great noise. 

 She guessed that they were pursuing her. Then she ran down the mountain. There was always loud 

 noise. She looked back. Behold, a great land-slide wascoming down! Trees fell, and great rocks rolled 

 down. Then the woman screamed. She saw where her parents staid, and ordered them to go aboard 

 their canoes. As soon as they were in their canoes, she reached them. Then she was aboard the canoe 

 other father. They were saved, but there was a great land-slide where they had been. They looked back. 

 Behold, a great many snails caused it! Then the princess told what had happened. It happened at 

 Inverness. Therefore its name is Where A Land Slide Occurred. 



