182 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 29 



Lo and behold! people walked about in Front of the town in great 

 numbers. He was '"'town mother"' in his father-in-law's town. His 

 wives were two. Next day they ai«"ain went down on the beach. 

 When he spoke to them as before they laughed at him. They made 

 him ashamed again. 



After they had gone along for a while they struck their digging- 

 sticks into the ground. They dug out two whales, and the town 

 people went down and cut them up. Next day they went down again. 

 Again they dug two out. They went down for five days in succes- 

 sion and dug out ten. On each side they dug out five. 



He wore ornaments of twisted copper wire coiled round his legs. 



The chief's son gave five whales to. the town people. Next day they 

 cut them up. But he left ti\'e. They were all fastened to his house 

 with ropes. The sea-gulls eating the whale meat lying around looked 

 like smoke. 



Then he took his bow and arrows, and after he had looked at them 

 for a while, he shot a small sea-gull. He shot it through the head. 

 Now heljroughtit in, split it open at the tail, and skinned it. He dried 

 the skin. When it was partly dried, he got into it. He walked about 

 on the floor-planks with it. Then he stretched his wings to fly. He 

 flew out. He left the town behind. His wives, too, did not have a 

 trace of him. 



He flew up into Nass inlet, the\' say. Then he looked about for the 

 place where his father's town was located. They were vainly trying to 

 catch eulachon with fish-rakes. In the canoe belonging to his father's 

 slaves was onl^^ one fish. Then he took it up with his beak; one of 

 them saw him and said: "'Alas! he has carried ofl" ni}" eulachon." 

 They looked up at him. They saw around his leg the thing that used 

 to be around the leg of the chief's son whom the}' abandoned. 



Then they paddled ofl' and landed l)ow first [in their haste]. ^'' The 

 chief's son whom the}' had abandoned had l)ecome a sea-gull. He had 

 flown about among them. This is what the}' said. Then his father 

 and his mother turned around from the fire, and, when they had 

 stopped crying, he (the father) said to the slaves: "To-morrow go to 

 dig for the bones of ni}' child." 



Now the slaves went away, and, after they had gone down with the 

 current for a while, they found decayed pieces of whales floating about 

 upon the water. When they had gone on farther, they found two 

 whales. After they had looked along a while for a place to hide this, 

 they left it there. In Nass inlet they were starving in the period 

 before the eulachon become thick. They left it until later. ^'"' ' 



They went away from it and came in sight of their master's town. 

 The town had ))ecome larger. In front of the houses were crowds of 

 people. They were boneless with astonishment. Only the man in 

 the stern paddled along. 



