SWANTON] HA IDA TEXTS AND MYTHS 25 



The tilinost coinplote alwenee <jt" ii mythic clcnu'iit in tiiis story susigests tiiat it 

 may bo founded on fact. At least it must liave l)een used to explain a relationship 

 supposed to exist between the Fish-eggs, a l)rancii of the great StA^stas family of 

 Masset, which belonged to the Kagle clan, and some family among the Stikine 

 Indians. 



' So the word K!iu'stA was somewhat doubtfully translated to me. It stood near 

 tlie northwestern angle of (iraham island opposite North island. 



'' A song supposed to have power in calming storms. 



■' Fearing to expose themselves to possible danger from an entirely strange man. 

 There was no assurance of safety between man and man unless Ijoth were of the same 

 family or peace was known to exist between their respective families. The verbs in 

 this quotation have the past-experienced ending, -gAn. Had this been related l)y a 

 person who had learned the facts from somebody else they would have taken the 

 past-inexperienced ending, -an. 



* Accidents like this were often supposed to be brought about by the unfaithfulness 

 of a man'swife, and it is not unlikely that the chief may have suspected that he had 

 suffered in this way. 



■'Tlingit words. 



"This is evidently mythical. The same thing used to be said of the Pitch people. 

 See Memoirs of the Jesup North Pacific F^xpedition, volume v, part i, i)age 9\. 



~ He speaks of his new friends as if they belonged to liis own family at End-of-trail 

 town. 



