swANTON] HAIDA TEXTS AND MYTHS 341 



Story of the two towns that stood on opposite sides of Nass 



KIVER 



[Told by Jimmy StL-rling of the StA'stas] 



The people of these towns used to visit back and forth. The}^ also 

 gambled together. From one of these several brothers went to hunt 

 beaver at the beaver lakes where they were in the habit of getting 

 them. They counted the days.^ 



When they came there and began to destroy the dam this was car- 

 ried over by the current, and they floated down in it. They barely 

 saved themselves far below. Now they knew that some regulation 

 had been broken. But still they continued to live where they were. 

 And there, too, the}^ did not kill a single thing. Then they went away. 

 Now they were certain that the wife of one of them was indeed going 

 with some one else." 



They camped at night near the town, and just before daylight the 

 eldest went to the town. He went to his wife. Some one lay with 

 his wife, and he cut off his head. Then he awoke his wife, and he 

 put the head above the door. At once he went out. 



At once she began to dig a hole for the body, which was left in her 

 bed. Then her child was crying. At that time they asked her why 

 it cried. And she said it cried because it had defecated in bed, and 

 she was wiping it. Right there she buried [the body]. 



When day came she lay as she used to. Then her husband came in 

 with his younger brother. He acted as if he knew nothing about hav- 

 ing killed an3'one. It was the son of the town chief on the other side. 



When day came the chief's son was missing. They visited each 

 other across the ice upon the river. They hunted about the town in 

 which he was missing. And they also hunted for him where he had 

 been killed. 



Then thej^ let a slave look for him secretly. They sent him after 

 fire. And he took his live coals and went away. When he went out 

 blood dropped upon his feet. And he did not look for the cause. 

 When he came to the middle of the river he let himself fall with his 

 live coals. Then he returned. He reentered the house where he had 

 got the live coals. Again he pushed charcoal into the fire on the side 

 toward the door. And when he went out he looked. He saw the 

 head stuck up on the side toward the door. When he got back he 

 told them he had seen his head. 



At once they ran thither. Then the}' began to fight. And, after the 

 fight had gone on for a while, all the people of the town where the 



