SWAXTON] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 31 



One evening they caught a small halibut at their fishing ground. 

 They cooked a piece of it and put the rest on the drying frame in the 

 brush house the man had constructed outside. 



Next day they heard a noise there as if something were being 

 thrown down and moved about. The woman said, "What can that 

 be?" Then her husl)and went out and was astonished to see two 

 medium-sized devilfish lying there. He wondered how they had 

 gotten up from the beach. Then he went in and said, "Wife (dja), 

 I am in luck. There are two large devilfish out there. I do not 

 know who brought them. To-morrow morning we will take them 

 and see if we can not catch some halibut. The person who brought 

 them here is very kind, for I have been hunting everywhere vainly 

 for bait." The woman sat down and considered. She said, "Do 

 you know who brought them here?" He said, "No." Then she 

 said, "I will tell 3'ou who l)rought them here. Don't you remember 

 that m}^ son was drowned a year ago, antl no one has seen anything 

 of him since? It must be he, who has taken pity on us because he 

 sees how poor we are. I will call his name if I hear anyone whistle 

 to-morrow or any other night, for I know it is my son." So the 

 woman spoke. 



In the morning they went out with these devilfish and caught two 

 halibut. Evening came on. After they had reached home and it 

 was dark, they began to cook some halibut. Just as the woman was 

 putting some into the pot a person whistled behind the house. Then 

 she said, "We have longed for you, ray dear son. Come in. Don't 

 whistle around us. We have been wishing for you for the last year, 

 so do not be afraid. It is only your father and I. Come in." Then 

 it whistled again. The mar* went to the door, opened it, and said, 

 "Come in, my son, I think you have come to help us because we are 

 very poorly ofi" here. The door is open. Come. right in." So the 

 father said. And without their seeing him enter, all of a sudden he 

 was seated opposite them with his hands over his face. Then they 

 spoke to him, saying, "Is it you, my son?" He only whistled [by 

 drawing in his breath]. That was the way he spoke to them. Toward 

 midnight he began to speak. The father said, "Is it you, my son?" 

 The land-otter-man (ku'cta-r^a) said, "Yes." He motioned to them 

 that there was something outside which he had brought for them. 

 It was some more devilfish. He said, "In the morning we will o-o 

 out." The woman gave him a pillow and two blankets for the night, 

 and he slept on the other side of the fire. 



So early in the morning that it was yet dark he took his father by 

 the feet and shook him, saying, "Get up. We will go out." He 

 told hiiA to take his fishing line, and they carried down the canoe. 

 Then the land-otter-man stepped in and his father followed. His 

 father gave him a paddle. The canoe went flying out to the halibut 



