SWANTON] • TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 239 



caste tree people, but with this poor old man. The child, however, 

 crawled right up to him, climbed into his lap and said, "Papa." At 

 once the old man married the girl. 



79. THE GIRL WHO MARRIED THE FIRE SPIRIT 



There was a chief's daughter whom all of the high-caste men wanted 

 to marry. One day, as she sat close to the fire, a spark came out on 

 her clothing and she said something bad to the fire, pointing her hand 

 at it with fingers extended. 



That night the girl was missing and could not be found anywhere. 

 They searched all of the villages and all of the houses in all of the 

 villages where those people lived who had wanted to marry her, but 

 in vain. Then they employed shamans from their own and all the 

 surrounding towns to tell where she was. Finally the chief was told 

 of a shaman in a village a very long way off, and he went to consult 

 him. The shaman said to him, "How is it that my spirits talk of 

 nothing but your fire? Your daughter might have said something 

 to the fire that displeased the spirits of the fire. Let your fire go 

 out as soon as you are through preparing food and have the rest of 

 your village people extinguish theirs. Do so for a long time." All 

 of this time the parents were mourning for their daughter. 



Then the chief sent through all the village to ask his people to let 

 their fires go out, and they obeyed him. This went on for some time 

 without result, but one day the girl came up from the fireplace from 

 between the rocks on which the logs were placed. The Fire Spirit 

 •(GA'ntu ye'gi) had taken her as his wife. Then the girl told her par- 

 ents that her husband had ])itied them, and after that she stayed 

 with them most of the time. Ever\^ now and then she would be miss- 

 ing, for she was very fond o^ her spirit husband, l)ut she would not 

 stay long. She w^ent into the fire to eat, and before she went directed 

 them to let the fire go out after a time in order to bring her back. 



One day, when she had not been away for a long time, she was 

 eating in her father's house. For the last dish they gave her soap- 

 berries. Her father's nephew, who was in love with her and who 

 was encouraged by her mother in hopes that she might be kept from 

 going away again, was stirring them. When she put her spoon into 

 the dish he seized it. At the same moment the firewood began to 

 whistle, as it does when the fire spirit is talking, and the girl under- 

 stood what it meant. Then she seemed frightened, and said to her 

 mother and the boy, ' 'He wants me at once." All that the girl had to 

 do when she wanted to see her husband was to think of him and she 

 would immediately be at his side. They never saw her going into 

 the fire. Therefore, as soon as she said this she disappeared, and 

 they did not know what had happened. Then, however, her spirit 

 husband hurt her in some way so as to make her scream, though the 



