752 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ann. 31 



A man's daughter sleeps next to the fire. In the morning she has disappeared and 

 the people can not find her. The Grizzly Bear has taken her away and married her 

 because her father was continually killing grizzly bears M 508. 



A chief does not want to give his daughter in marriage. One night a Half-Head 

 appears to her and marries her. The next morning the people lay down a mat and 

 ask her to come down with her husband. The food seems to move by itself towards 

 the Half-Head. The Half-Head goes hunting for the people M 625. 



There are also a number of stories of a somewhat different type, 

 telling of the marriage of a woman to a Devilfish. 1 



A girl pushes a stick under a bowlder on the beach, and the Devilfish pulls her 

 under. She is covered by the tide and disappears. She marries the Devilfish M 560. 



In the Kaigani version the same story is told about a princess whom her father 

 would not allow to marry Kai 260. 



It appears from this that tales of this type are found particularly 

 among the Tlingit and Tsimshian, and that the tale of the offended 

 animals is practically confined to these two tribes. 



0) The Mouse Woman as Adviser 



(Ts 162; Ts 167; Ts 273; Ts 279; Ts 1.151; Ts 5.294; Tl 127; Tl 253. See also N 127) 

 A very characteristic incident occurs in all the Tsimshian tales in 

 those cases in which the girl has offended the animal, or where she is 

 taken to the animal's house against her will. 



The animal takes the girl home, enters his father's house, where he assumes human 

 form, and isasked, " Did you not get what you wanted?" Hereplies, " She is standing 

 outside." Then his sisters run out and bring in the girl. After a while the Mouse 

 Woman appears and requests her to burn her ear-ornaments. Mouse pulls them out 

 of the fire and asks the girl whether she knows who has taken her away. She replies, 

 "No," and then the Mouse informs her and gives her advice. 



Among the Thngit we find the incident of the Mouse Woman only 

 in the GunaxnesEmg-a'd story Tl 126, Tl 252 (see p. 838). 



(/) Adventures Among the Animals 



(Ts 162; Tl 175.— Ts 166; Ts 177; Ts 272; Ts 27S; Ts 1.147; Ts 5.294; Tl 38; Tl 53; 

 Tl 236; Tl 237; Tl 238; Tl 239; Tl 247; Kai 254; M 625) 



The stories continue with the young woman's experiences among 

 the animals. 



When she enters the house, she sees two large snails lying near the fire, who are the 

 parents of her husband. They do not care for the young woman, who has to stay in 

 the corner of the house Ts 162. The woman who married the Snail is taken to a per- 

 pendicular cliff behind the village. She is seen halfway up with a Snail curled 

 around her Tl 175. 



i Here belongs also the story of the woman who married the Devilfish (Tl 130), which, however, opens 

 with the formula of the offended animal (see p. 749). 



