sWAXTox] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 181 



to flop up and down faster and faster. Presently the woman saw a 

 larger halibut lying there. Everybody now watched it, and it kept 

 flopping and increasing in size until it became as large as a paddle. 

 By and by it grew to the size of a large piece of red-cedar bark pre- 

 pared for roofing, and at length it covered the entire beach. Toward 

 evening it was a veritable monster, which smashed the whole town in 

 pieces by its motions. Before that the Queen Charlotte group formed 

 one large solid body of land, but the halibut broke it into the various 

 portions that exist to-day. At that same time the people of this 

 single village were scattered all over the group. 



41. THE IMAGE THAT CAME TO LIFE 



A young chief on the Queen Charlotte islands married, and soon 

 afterwards his wife fell ill. Then he sent around everywhere for the 

 very best shamans. If there were a very fine shaman at a certain 

 village he would send a canoe there to bring him. None of them 

 could help her, however, and after she had been sick for a very long 

 time she died. 



Now the young chief felt very badly over the loss of his wife. He 

 went from place to place after the best carvers in order to have them 

 carve an image of his wife, but no one could make anything to look 

 like her. All this time there was a carver in his own village who could 

 carve much better than all the others. This man met him one day 

 and said, "You are going from village to village to have wood carved 

 like your wife's face, and you can not find anyone to do it, can you? 

 I have seen your wife a great deal walking along with you. I have 

 never studied her face with the idea that you might want some one to 

 carve it, but I am going to try if you will allow me." 



Then the carver went after a piece of retl cedar and began working 

 upon it. Wlien he was through, he went to the young chief and said, 

 "Now you can come along and look at it." He had dressed it just as 

 he used to see the young woman dressed. So the chief went with him, 

 and, when he got inside, he saw his dead wife sitting there just as she 

 used to look. This made him very happy, and he took it home. Then 

 he asked the carver, "What do I owe you for making this?" and he 

 replied, "Do as you please about it." The carver had felt sorry to 

 see how this chief was mourning for his wife, so he said, "It is because 

 I felt badly for you that I made that. So don't pay me too much for 

 it." He paid the carver very well, however, both in slaves and in 

 goods. 



Now the chief dressed this image in his wife's clothes and her 

 marten-skin robe. He felt that his wife had come back to him and 

 treated the image just like her. One day, while he sat mourning 

 very close to the image, he felt it move. His wife had also been 

 very fond of him. At first he thought that the movement was only 



