802 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ass. 31 



follows his father-in-law, and gives him the hammer Ne 5.198. Gwa' J nalalis goes 

 with his son-in-law to split boards, throws in his hammer, knocks out the props. 

 Blood seems to come out. Q!a / neqi" £ lak u follows him, carrying the hammer. The 

 same happens a second time Ne 9.197; Ne 11.202. 



La'iq asks the youths, his sons-in-law, to help him split boards. The young men 

 borrow a bird's blanket and red and white paint. The father-in-law throws in his 

 hammer; and when the young people jump in, he knocks out the props. Blood and 

 brains seem to come out. The boys fly home and arrive there first Co 5.67. The 

 same is repeated in Co 5.70, where the youth flies out of the tree in the form of a 

 woodpecker, passing close by La'iq. Anthti'ne's father-in-law goes with him to split 

 wood. He throws in the hammer; and when Anthtine crawls in to get it, he knocks 

 out the props. However, the old man is unable to kill the youth Nu 5.118. [He 

 transforms himself into mucus, which runs out of the crack Nu ap 909.] The latter goes 

 with liia father-in-law to help him build a canoe. The canoe is of stone and has a 

 deep fissure. The old man throws his chisel in and tells the boy to get it. When 

 he is inside, he makes it close. The youth throws pipe-clay over his shoulder, which 

 the old man believes to be his brains. The young man finds bones of many people 

 down below, but passes out and overtakes the old man before he gets home Squ Hill- 

 Tout 3.526. 



The Moon asks the young man who has rejected his daughters to help him get a 

 cedar. The Moon throws his hammer into the crack and knocks out the props in order 

 to kill the young man, who puts in two bones that have been given to him. He throws 

 out white paint, which the Moon believes to be the youth's brains. When the old 

 man opens the tree to get the body, he finds the young man sitting inside unharmed 

 Sts5.39. 



A cannibal sends his son-in-law to split a tree. His companion, by means of magic, 

 causes the tree to surround the boy. He thinks he sees blood and brains ooze out, 

 which, however, in reality are red and white paint, which the boy spits out. The 

 boy splits the tree with a stone arrow-head (wedge U 209), carries the dry wood 

 home, and throws it down into the underground lodge Ntl Teit 2.39. A youth is told 

 to split wood. It is made hard by magic, then suddenly soft, so that the wedges 

 drop out into the crack. The youth is told to get them, and the people cause the 

 crack to close. He spits out red paint, puts his "thunder-stone" across, and is saved. 

 When the people are gone, he splits the wood and carries it home, when it assumes a 

 large bulk Lil 349. The old people send their son-in-law to get firewood. The youth, 

 who appears as a decrepit old man, seems to cut it down with difficulty. The youth 

 is attacked and killed. When the people leave, he arises, gathers the wood, makes 

 it assume the size of a small bundle, and takes it home Lil 345. 



The same incident occurs also in a Quinault and a Chinook tale. 



The Thunderer asks his son-in-law to help him split a log. He tells him to crawl 

 in and stem his arms against the log. Then he knocks out the wedges. The young 

 man breaks the log and carries it home Quin 113, Chin 34. 



There are a few strongly aberrant tales of this group. 



The Sun asks his son-in-law to help him split wood. They select a snag. The 

 Sun drops his hammer into the water. He sends his son-in-law to. get it. As 

 soon as the youth dives, the Sun causes the sea to freeze and goes home. He tells 

 his daughters that his son-in-law has drifted away. The youth assumes the form of 

 a fish and jumps out of a crack in the ice. Then he goes back to the house, carrying 

 the hammer BC 81. The Sun is splitting wood with a stone ax. The head of the ax 

 flies off and falls into the lake. The boy dives for it, but the Sun has placed nets at 

 different levels in the water. He slips through the first net in the form of a fish, 

 through the second in the form of a hair, and carries the ax back to the Sun Ch.il 25. 



