swANTON] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 131 



came to her, and she disappeared with him ; and the people wondered 

 where she had gone. This young man was the devilfish, whom she 

 married, and she had several children by him. Meanwhile, as she 

 was their only child, her parents were mourning for her continually. 

 After some time had passed, her parents saw two small devilfishes on 

 the steps of the chief's house early in the morning, and the people 

 said to the chief, "What devilfishes are these here on the steps?" 

 He said, "Throw them down on the beach." They did so, but the 

 little devilfishes came right back. They threw them down again, 

 but the chief said, ''If they come up the third time, leave them alone. 

 Let them do what they will, but watch them closely." Then they 

 came right into the chief's house, and one climbed into the chief's lap 

 while the other got into that of his wife. He said, ' ' My daughter must 

 have gone to live among the devilfishes." To see what they would 

 do, he said, "My grandchildren, is this you?" Upon which they put 

 their tentacles around his neck and began moving about. Then he 

 gave them some food on long platters, and they acted as though they 

 were eating from these. Afterward he said, "Take those platters and 

 follow them along to see where they go. " They did so and saw them 

 disappear under a large rock just in front of the town. So the people 

 came back and said to the chief, "They went under that large rock 

 down there. Your daughter must be under there also." When the 

 people got up next morning they saw on the steps the platters they 

 had taken down, wiped very clean. 



Now the chief felt very badly, for he laiew what had happened to 

 his daugliter, so he said to the people in his house, "Go down and 

 invite my daughter, and say, ' Your father wants you to come to 

 dinner.'" So they went down and said, "Your father has sent us 

 to invite you, your children, and your husband to come to dinner at 

 his house." "We are coming," said the woman from under the 

 beach, "so go back. We will be there soon." She knew the voices 

 of all of her husband's servants. When these came back to the chief, 

 he said, "Did you ask her? Did you go there?" "Yes, we were 

 there." "What did you say to her?" "We told her just what you 

 wanted us to say to her. She said that her husband, her children, 

 and herself would be here soon." 



So the people watched for her, and by and by she came up along 

 with her devilfish husband and with the two little devilfishes right 

 behind her. Her marten-skin robe was rotten, all sorts of sea weeds 

 were in her hair, and she looked badly, although she had formerly 

 been very pretty. Her father and mother were very sorry. Then 

 they set out food for them and afterward took the trays down to the 

 place where the little ones had gone under the rock. 



Now the chief invited all of the people into his house, gave them 

 tobacco to chew, and told them how badly he felt. After they had 



