192 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 39 



people. Had it been another young fellow he would have hidden the 

 food, but instead you have brought m}^ village people and myself to 

 life. Now take your choice between my wives. Take whichever you 

 want." 



The young man did not answer at once, but the younger wife knew 

 that he would choose her, because the elder wife hated him. Finally 

 he said, "I will take the j^oung woman, for she has been good to me." 

 Then his uncle moved to one side and let his nephew take his place. 

 He became exceedingly wealthy, and was very good to the people 

 of his village and to his uncle. 



48. THE SALMON SACK 



A small boy whose father was dead lived with his mother at the 

 town of AsnA'xk! on the Queen Charlotte islands. The other town 

 people were continually bringing in halibut and a salmon called 

 icqe'n, but he and his mother could not get one piece and were vety 

 hungry. One day he begged to accompany some people who were 

 going out, and they consented. When he got to the fishing ground 

 he had a bite and began to pull up his line very rapidly. As he did so 

 numbers of salmon tails began coming up for some distance around, 

 and the people started to put them into the canoe. They did not 

 know what it meant. When he got it up they found that it was a 

 very large sack full of salmon with just their tails sticking out, and 

 they completely filled their canoes, for the salmon extended all 

 about them. Then they carried these ashore and had so many that 

 they began making oil out of some. With this oil and the dried 

 salmon the people of that village had plenty to eat. 



Years ago it always happened that the poor people to whom others 

 were unkind l)rought luck to the village. They were so unkind to 

 this boy that they did not give him any halibut, and that is why it 

 was through him that the}^ had plenty to eat. 



49. ROOTS'^ 



A boy was walking along in front of the houses of a very populous 

 village early one morning when a quill fell right in front of him. The 

 boy picked it up and started to run away, but it lifted him up into the 

 air out of sight. After that several other people w^ere missed, and 

 no one knew what had become of them. Finally, how^ever, they saw 

 another going up very rapidly, anil so discovered what was the 

 matter. Now, the people watched very closely, and, when another 

 was seen to be taken up, a man seized him by the legs. He, however, 

 was also lifted into the air. Then another grasped him, and all of 

 the people of the village kept on doing this, thinking to break the 



a See story 13. 



