BOAS] TSIMSHIAN TEXTS 235 



Rotten-teathevs, who had now tho name Labret. heard that a Miper- 

 natural being named Sleep had a beautiful wife. Ho desired to 

 abduct her. and, notwithstandino- Great-goose's warnino-. he sot out. 

 He reached the house and found Sleep fast asleep. He told Sleep's 

 wife that he had come to abduct her. She was willing to elope with 

 him. She told him that Sleep had a veiy fast canoe, which traveled 

 by itself. The\' went aboard this canoe and escaped. Sleep liad a 

 chamber-pot whose office it was to wake him if any danger approached. 

 The pot knocked him on the head and the urine ran over his face, \mt 

 he did not awake. Then a wooden maul, whose office it was also to 

 wake him, knocked him on the head until he awoke. The maul said, 

 "Labret abducted your wife." Immediately Sleep launched a canoe 

 and set out to pursue the fugitives. Soon he descried them. He 

 shouted, "Stop, Labret, else I shall raise rocks in front of you." 

 When the couple paddled on Sleep raised a mountain right in front of 

 them, but Labret moved his feather against it and thus opened a pas- 

 sage. Sleep continued his pursuit. When he approached he ordered 

 Labret to stop, threatening to put his comb in front of him. When 

 Labret paddled on, Sleep threw the comb ahead and thus made a dense 

 forest in front of the fugitives. Labret, however, moved his feather 

 against the woods and so made a passage through it. Thus the couple 

 escaped safely. The mask of Sleep is used up to this day by the 

 G 'ispawaduwE'aa. 



