swANTox] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 141 



yoii." The yoiith had composed so many beautiful songs that all 

 the girls had fallen in love with him. That was why the other youths 

 were jealous of him. The hrst dancer also said to him, "It is not 

 high-caste people like yourself merely who will compose songs. Every- 

 body will learn these and compose others. Anybody that composes 

 songs like this after having made medicine will have his name become 

 great in the world." 



Wlien this youth had told his father all he had learned, his father 

 asked all the people of that town to come to his house and repeated 

 it to them. Then he sq.id, "I do not think it is well for a high-caste 

 person to compose songs and be a dancer. They say that a person's 

 name will become very high and be known everywhere if he com- 

 ])oses songs and becomes a dancer, but a chief's son's name is already 

 high, and a chief's name is known everywhere. Wliy shoidd he C(un- 

 pose songs and dance to make it so? It is better that the poorer 

 people should do this and make their names known in the world." 

 If the chief had not said this, people that compose songs and dance 

 would be very scarce among us. It is because the chief said, "Let 

 it be among the poorer people so that their names may be known,", 

 that there are so many composers and dancers among us. For no 

 chief composes or dances without giving away a great deal of property. 



Thus it happens that there are two kinds of dances, a dance for the 

 chief and his sons and this common or Haida dance (Dekl'na ALle'x). 

 In the latter, women always accompany it with songs, and, if the 

 composer sings about some good family, members of the latter give 

 him presents. When the chief is going to dance, he has to be very 

 careful not to say anything out of the way. He dances wearing a 

 head dress with weasel skins, a Chilkat blanket, and legging: and 

 carrying a raven rattle. He is the only one whose voice is heard, and 

 he speaks very quietly. Meanwhile, until it is time for them to start 

 singing for him, the people are very quiet and then only high-caste 

 people sing. The Haida dance, however, is always accompanied by 

 noise. It is rather a dance for pleasure, while the chief's dance is 

 more of a ceremony. Although most of the people who witness it 

 are high-caste, anyone is welcome. All watch the chief's actions and 

 listen to his words very closely. If he makes the least mistake, show- 

 ing that he has not studied his words beforehand very well, they have 

 too much respect for him to say anything to him at that time. Next 

 day, however, after he has found it out, if he does not take his words 

 back, the people that had heard will disgrace him by giving away a 

 great deal of property. The Haida dance was done away with years 

 ago, while the chief's dance has been given up only in very recent 

 times. 



After this the man that first taught dancing married in that town 

 and forgot all about the wealth he had lost. This shows that he was 



