boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 849 



of Wa' walis and his later adventures. In some of the versions it is told how he mariies 

 again, and the story of the woman carried away by the Killer Whale is then introduced 

 BC 5, Ri MS. The version Chil 44 is probably derived from Bellacoola sources. 

 Here belongs also the Chippewayan tale 7.407. Less closely related are the stories 

 of Si'xa Sk 201; of the Moon as a lover BC 5.247; the Lillooet story Lil 335; and 

 the Wolf tale Ts 317. 



The plot is reversed, telling of the revenge of brothers upon a man 

 who had killed their sister, his wife, in the story of the Le'gwilda £ x u 

 (K 5.129, K 9.401, Nu 5.123, Pentlatch 5.96, Co 5.89, from Lower 

 Frasef River 5.22, Lil 339, U 285, Ntl Teit 3.384, Quin 121). 



All of these are versions of the same story. A man finds that his wife is faithless. 

 He takes her to get cedar bark. When she has climbed a tree, he impales her on top; 

 and while he descends he strips off the bark. The woman's brothers hear her wailing 

 and eventually find her. They take her down. The youngest brother puts on her 

 dress and goes to the house of his brother-in-law, pretending to be the woman who 

 has succeeded in making her escape. During the night he cuts off the man's head 

 and makes his escape. 



A similar incident occurs in a story of the Eagle clan. A man kills his wife. Her 

 brother disguises himself, pretends to be the wife who has returned, and during the 

 night cuts off the head of his brother-in-law Ts 270. (See also Nu ap 919. ) 



Another story which contains the incident of the man who cuts 

 off the head of his wife's lover is connected with the tale of the skin- 

 shifter (see No. 66 [p. 606], p. 870). 



The Gau'6 story continues as follows: 



The chief of the other village misses his son (all versions), and thinks he may have 

 fallen through the ice Ts 5. The people inquire, and learn that he had crossed the 

 river N. They search for the prince everywhere Sk6. A frost comes, and the river 

 is frozen over Ska. Since the slaves can not find the body, the chief suspects foul 

 play Ts 5. He orders all the people in the two towns to put out their fires and to wail. 

 All obey except the brothers Ts 1 [when the brothers return from hunting, he orders 

 all fires to be extinguished because he wants to have a pretext for investigating in 

 the houses Ts 5; he suspects the brothers N]. The chief sends a slave to ask for fire 

 (all versions) [a slave woman Ts 5, N, Ska, Sko]. The slave is invited to sit down by 

 the fire. A man throws him with a salmon-board, and says in fun, "Your master 

 probably does not rise very early. He sends rather late to get fire " Ts 5. She lights 

 a torch Ts 1, N. She takes some live coals Ska, Sko. She goes home over the ice and 

 comes every morning for fire N [she is sent to the middle house for fire Ska]; meanwhile 

 the slave looks about secretly Sk6. When going out and passing through the doorway, 

 blood drips on her instep Ts 1, N, Ska, Sko [she sees a black spot on the threshold and 

 sees it is blood Ts 5; she takes coal from the front of the fire, looks up over the door, 

 and sees the head Ski]. When she gets outside, she pretends to fall, and extinguishes 

 her torch in the snow (all versions). She goes back to relight her torch, and recog- 

 nizes the dried head over the door Ts 5 [she recognizes the ear-ornaments N, Ska; she 

 is not sure whether she has recognized her master's head, and goes back to get new 

 coals; she comes back a second time, and recognizes the eyes Ska]. She goes home, 

 and when halfway across the river she throws the torch [coals Ska, Sk6] away, runs 

 home, and tells her master Ts 1, Ts 5, N, Ska. The people arm, come across the river, 

 and fight on the ice and kill the brothers and their people. Their town is burned 

 (all versions). 



Gau'6 and her granddaughter Ts 5 [and herdaughter Ts 1] hide Ts 1 in a pitTs 5, N, M 

 728 [Wa'g'ixs, the wife of the eldest brother, makes a hole under her bed for herself, 

 50633°— 31 eth— 16 54 



