SWAXTON] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 237 



Afterward the frogs started to hop out, and a man followed them 

 with the dishes of food. They hopped straight up to a lake back of 

 the village and jumped in. Then, as the chief had already directed 

 them, the men set the dishes down at the edge and stood watching. 

 Presently the dishes moved out into the lake and sank. All at once 

 they came up again and moved back to the same place. 



Then these men returned to the chief and reported everything that 

 they had seen, whereupon he sent them back, saying, "Go back and 

 say, 'Your father has invited you to the house.'" They did so. 

 Then they heard a voice replying, ''I can not come." They reported 

 this to her father, and he told them to take up her marten-skin robes 

 and her other clothing and lay them by the lake. After that she 

 came down and along with her the two high-caste frogs whom she 

 had married. When they had finished eating, all went back. 



Now the girl's father thought often and deepl}'^ how he should get 

 her back, for he did not know what to do. Finally he said to the 

 village people, "Make a ])lace where the lake can flow out." So all 

 of the people went to work to drain the lake, and the water began 

 flowing out. When the lake was nearly dry they saw this girl, all 

 covered with frogs with the exception of her face, start to flow along 

 with them. They picked her out from the very midst of the frogs 

 and carried her home, but the frogs followed right after her. The 

 house was quite filled with them. Then they killed all of the frogs 

 that were upon her body, but as they did so more climbed up. When 

 they began killing them with human bones, however, they went 

 away. Afterward the girl remained with her father, and the frogs 

 did not bother her any more. 



77. THE GIRL WHO MARRIED THE L!AL! 



There was a certain Chilkat chief belonging to the GanAxte'dl 

 whose house stood in the middle of the village. One morning his 

 daughter, a very lively girl, went out of doors and stepped upon 

 something slimy. "Ugh," she said, "those dirty people throw their 

 slops out right where a person may step into them." What she 

 stepped on was the skin of a fish called l !al !, wliich is taken in Chilkat 

 river. 



The girl thought no more about this, but toward midnight a young 

 fellow appeared to her as if in a dream and said, "I am in love with 

 you," whereupon he sat down at the head of her bed. Although the 

 girl had rejected many suitors, she took a liking to this youth at once 

 and married him. This was against the will of her father, but she 

 was his only girl and was very wilfid, so he let her have her own way. 



The youth was very industrious, working at all times and hauling 

 down wood for them. From him they learned how to haul wood. 

 It was well on toward spring, but it was dry, and the ground was 



