THE INDIANS OF THE NORTHWEST COAST. 379 



session of the chief evil spirit, a great chief, the uncle of Yetl, who 

 lived on the mainland where the Nass river now is. He was master of 

 the tides and had great power, and the stories of how Yetl circumvented 

 him are numerous and interesting. The Haida name for this uncle is 

 Setlm-M-jash, the Tlingit designation being Kees-dii-jeal-ity Kah or 

 Keesshiisaah Ankow. tfe had a wife and sister, or according to some 

 versions a wife and daughter. Of his wife he was very jealous, and 

 whenever for any reason he was away from home, hunting, fishing, or 

 working, he imprisoned her in a box or basket, and tied her up to the 

 rafters in the lodge, setting a number of little red birds to watch her. 

 If by any chance the box were opened the birds would fly to him antt 

 warn him. He was also very jealous of the posterity of his sister (or 

 daughter), whose children he killed for fear that when they grew up 

 they would prove rivals to him in his wife's afit'ections.* According to 

 the Haida tradition, he threw her progeny into the tire; according to 

 the Tlingit, he drowned them. This sister (or daughter) was not al- 

 lowed to eat or drink anything until the chief had examined it, as she 

 had become pregnant from eating certain things many times before. 

 As every part of the house was so jealously guarded, Yetl or Ne Idl- 

 stlas did not know how to get in to steal the 'various things he 

 wanted for the good of man, but finally he hit upon the plan of 

 being born into tho family. One day he saw the sister (or 

 daughter) go to the brook to get a drink, so transforming himself 

 into a drop of water (or spear of cedar or blade of grass), he eluded 

 the vigilance of the ohief and was swallowed by the girl, and 

 in due time Yetl was born to her as a son.t She concealed the fact of 

 his birth from the chief for some little time. In ten days' time he grew 

 to almost man's size. His mother taught him' many things, amongst 

 others the use of the bow and arrow, and he became an expert shot. 

 With his arrow he killed the magical crane whose skin enabled the 

 wearer to fly, and the diver with whose skin he could float. One day 

 the chief discovered Yetl and pretended to be pleased with him, but he 

 took him out in a canoe and threw him overboard. Yetl, having on 

 his diver's skin, walked along the bottom and met his uncle on shore. 

 Xext the chief threw him into the fire and piled logs on him, but hav- 

 ing on a magic cloak he came out of the fire unharmed. One day when 

 the chief was away, he opened the box in which his wife was confined 

 and released her, but the little birds flew to him and informed him. 

 The chief returned in a great rage, but Yetl sat calmly without noticing 

 him. This was too much for the master of the tides, so he commanded 

 the floods to rise and destroy this impudent meddler, but Yetl, giving 



* This is on a parallel with the habits and morals of these Indians. We have here, 

 as in all traditions, an expression of the moral ideas of the people. 



tit is interesting to note in this connection the widespread belief both among sav- 

 age and civilized peoples in the possibility of pregnancy through indiscretion in 

 eating:. 



