206 BX^REAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY Ibull. 39 



he continued to do until he liad carried up all of the men. Mean- 

 while the women were in a great hurry to cut the whale, but the old 

 woman poked it, tellino; it to 0:0 out, and it went away from them 

 right out to sea. Meanwhile the eagle rose higher and higher into the 

 air and flew far out over the ocean, where it dropped all of the men of 

 that place and drowned them. 



54. THE BRANT WIFE« 



A man at Gona'xo in the Laxayi'k (or Yakutat) country married 

 a brant woman (c|en). One day in spring this woman said to her 

 husband, "Let us go outside and watch the flocks of geese passing. 

 My father's canoe will soon be coming along." Then they went out 

 and saw a flock of brant coming. The brant seemed to stop over the 

 woman a little while, and she called to them saying, "Have you any- 

 thing for me ? " Immediately some dried ts !et fell upon her lap. 



Next day she again said to her husband, "I am sure that my 

 father's canoe will come along to-day. Let us go outside and sit 

 there." So they did. Then they saw the largest flock of brant they 

 hatl yet observed, and the woman jumped up, saying, "There is my 

 father's canoe coming along." When the flock got over the place 

 where they were sitting, one of them made a great noise directly over- 

 head, and her husband thought that must be his wife's father. His 

 wife also began making the brant noise in return, so that her husband 

 became very much frightened. As soon as she had finished she flew 

 up among the brant people. 



Now her husband started off under the flock, and ran for a very 

 long time until he was thoroughly tired out. Seeing that he was now 

 so far behind that she could barely see him, his wdfe said to her father, 

 "Father, let us camp here." So her father had them encamp there 

 on a flat place, and her husband saw it from a high hill. When he 

 came up with them, he stood around on the flats and would not go 

 near. By and by a man came out to him and said, "You better come 

 in. We have a place prepared for you." So he went in, and found 

 his wife sitting on a mat in the house with room enough for him 

 beside her. The brants looked to him just like human beings. Then 

 they cooked for them, and afterward left the place, taking him with 

 them. When they reached the place where they were to sta}^ all 

 summer, he saw that they worked very hard to get food in order to 

 take it back. 



Some time afterward the sand-hill cranes (dul) and the geese 

 (t'.awA'k) made war on the brants and killed off many of the latter. 

 At first the man stood and watched them without taking part, and 

 at last his wife's father, who was chief of the brants, said to his daugh- 



o See story 24. 



