880 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ass. 31 



been materially different from what it is now. It seems reasonable 

 to my mind, therefore, to base our opinions on the origin of myth- 

 ology on a study of the growth of mythology as it occurs under our 

 own eyes. 



The facts that are brought out most clearly from a carefid analysis 

 of myths and folk-tales of an area like the Northwest coast of America 

 are that the contents of folk-tales and myths are largely the same, 

 that the data show a continual flow of material from mythology to 

 folk-tale and vice versa, and that neither group can claim priority. 

 We furthermore observe that contents and form of mythology and 

 folk-tales are determined by the same conditions that determined 

 early art. 



The formulas of myths and folk-tales, if we disregard the par- 

 ticular incidents that form the substance with which the framework 

 is filled in, are almost exclusively events that reflect the occurrences 

 of human life, particularly those that stir the emotions of the people. 

 If we once recognize that mythology has no claim to priority over 

 novelistic folk-lore, then there is no reason why we should not be 

 satisfied to explain the origin of these tales as due to the play of 

 imagination with the events of human life. 



It is somewhat different with the incidents of tales and myths, 

 with the substance that gives to the tales and myths their highly 

 imaginative character. It is true enough that these are not directly 

 taken from every-day experience; that they are rather contradictory 

 to it. Revival of the dead, disappearance of wounds, magical treas- 

 ures, and plentiful food obtained without labor, are not every-day 

 occurrences, but they are every-day wishes; and is it not one of 

 the main characteristics of the imagination that it gives reality to 

 wishes? Others are exaggerations of our experiences; as the power 

 of speech given to animals, the enormous size of giants, or the diminu- 

 tive stature of dwarfs. Or they are the materialization of the objects 

 of fear; as the imaginative difficulties and dangers of war and the hunt, 

 or the monsters besetting the steps of the unwary traveler. Still 

 other elements of folk-lore represent ideas contrary to daily experi- 

 ences; such as the numerous stories that deal with the absence of 

 certain features of daily life, as fire, water, etc., or those in which 

 birth or death are brought about by unusual means. Practically 

 all the supernatural occurrences of mythology may be interpreted by 

 these exaggerations of imagination. 



So far as our knowledge of mythology and folk-lore of modern 

 people goes, we are justified in the opinion that the power of imagina- 

 tion of man is rather limited, that people much rather operate with 

 the old stock of imaginative happenings than invent new ones. 



There is only one point, and a fundamental one, that is not fully 

 covered by the characteristic activity of imagination. It is the fact 



