BOAS] 



TSIMSHIAN TEXTS 



115 



down on the prairie. They called it war. The birds did not eome 

 there to feed. Then the three men ran down. They did not take any 

 clubs, but they just took the birds and twisted off their necks. They 

 did so and accomplished a great deal. Not one of the men was dead, 

 but they killed a great many l)irds. Then the people were glad. They 

 are called G'ilg'ina'mgan.' The three men had killed almost one-half 

 of the birds. The birds came there for one month. Then they left. 

 Now the people re.solved to take pity on the three men. They did 

 so. and sent them back to their own town. They retiu'iKHl, and that 

 is the end. 



nLk"'e La huX a'd'ik"sk"L ts'ots. 



then iperf.) again came birds. 



wI-la.x-hil'p'E.sk". G'ltwi'ltk^t sE-hwa'tdetg'e, ai, k''e ni'g'i 



the on grass. War tticy call it. tlicn not 



great 



hwilt q'ap-txa'xk"!. wI-he'ldKin ts'ots. NLk'"c de-wi'd"axL 



dill really eat many birds. Then iin ran 



Ilieir I'art 



q ain-gula'nL g'a'tg't"'. Ni'g'idi do'tjdeL ha-<i"alri'X. Q'am-do'tjdeL 



only the three men. Not they took the clubs. Only they took 



ts'ots. K''et (|'am-lo-haL-t"uXt"a'k"det; txane'tk"i, tin-hwi'ndet. 



the Then only in alntig they twisted off; all wliat they ilid. 



. birds. 



SEm-xsta haLa'Eli.siL gula'uL g'a'tg'e. Ni'g'idi no'oL k'":ilt. 



Very gain their work the three men. Not deacl one. 



QaLa'bEL hwil lik"s-g'ig"a'L ts'o'ts. NLk'"e lo-am'a'mi. qaga'otL 



As many ditTerent kinds of birds. Then in good were the hearts of 



1 The Kwakiutl have the same legend. They call the tribe of dwarfs G'ing-ina'nEmis, i. e., chil- 

 dren of the sea. The Tsirashian name iw evidently a phonetic distortion of the Kwakiutl word, .so 

 that it seems probable that this whole tradition, which is so remarkably alike to the ancient U-tiend 

 of the pygmies and the cranes, is of Kwakiutl origin (see F. Boas, Indianische Sagen von der 

 noid-pacilischen Kiiste Amerikas, pp. 88, 192). 



