ALSEA TEXTS AND MYTHS 



By Leo J. Frachtenberg 



INTRODUCTION 



In the present volume are embodied materials collected at separate 

 periods by two investigators. The oldej collection, consisting of 

 three creation myths, two tales, and four stories that were obtained 

 in English (nine traditions in all), was made by Dr. Livingston 

 Farrand during June and July, 1900. These narratives are printed 

 in this volume as Nos. 3, 5, 6, 11, 12, 25, 26, 27, and 28, re- 

 spectively. My own material,^ comprising five creation m3^ths, 

 seven folktales, three historical narratives, and four superstitious 

 beliefs (19 tales in all), was obtained at two different periods. Tales 

 numbered 1, 2, 4, 7-9, 10, 13-16, and 18-24 were dictated to me during 

 July and August, 1910; the tradition numbered 17 was collected in 

 the month of February, 1913. Both collections were obtained on 

 the Siletz Reservation, in northwestern Oregon, where the few re- 

 maining members of the Alsea tribe, a subdivision of the Yakonan 

 linguistic family, are still living. 



Doctor Farrand's informants were Alsea George and \J. S. Grant, 

 both of whom are now dead. From the formes, Doctor Farrand 

 obtained narratives Nos. 26 and 27, and an English version of creation 

 myth No. 5 (No. 25); the latter translated into the native tongue the 

 above-mentioned creation myth and supplied all other traditions 

 that form part of Doctor Farrand's collection. Of the two men 

 Alsea George was, according to all accounts, the older and more 

 reliable informant; this is shown by the completeness and clearness 

 of the stories obtained from him. Doctor Farrand evidently in- 

 tended to translate with the aid of U. S. Grant all three narratives 

 told to him in English, but failed to do so for reasons unknown to me. 

 My own informants were William Smith and Thomas Jackson. To 

 the former I am indebted for the texts numbered 2, 7, 8, 13-16, 

 and 18-24; from the latter I obtained the remaining traditions. 



In spite of his willingness to work, William Smith was not so 

 reUable an informant as I should have liked. He was comparatively 



1 Four additional texts were published separately in the International Journal of American Linguis- 

 tics, vol. 1, No. 1, pp. 64-75. 



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