SELISH MYTHS. 27 



wife. The Bear proposed to the Panther for his daughter, 

 biit he woiild not listen. The Rabbit also tried, but in 

 vain, as did all the others. ^ When night came on, the 

 Lynx sat thinking, when all at once the thought came to 

 him that he might behold the Panther's daughter, even if 

 he could not marry her, whereupon he left his own lodge 

 and proceeded to that occupied by her. Then he carefully 

 crawled upon the lodge and looked down through the 

 opening left for the smoke to issue, where he saw the Pan- 

 ther girl aslcep, with her mouth wide open. The Lynx 

 sat in wonder looking at the beautiful girl, and while he 

 was panting from the exertions in ascending the lodge, 

 some saliva dropped down iuto her mouth, which caused 

 her to have a child, in due time, which could not be stopped 

 from crying. 



The Panther Chief tried to quiet his graudchild, but 

 could not ; the daughter tried, but failed, as did all the rest 

 of the Panther's family. No one could be found who could 

 be chosen as the father of the crying child. Then the 

 Panther Chief called together all the young men of the 

 tribe, and said, " Go you, all of you, and try if you can 

 quiet my Graudchild, and the one in whose embrace it 

 ceases to cry, shall be the father of my Graudchild and the 

 husband of my daughter." Then the Bear tried to quiet 

 the child but could not ; the Rabbit tried and failed ; and 

 all the rest of the young men met with no success. The 

 Coyote came last, and when he took up the child it became 

 quiet at once, when the Panther Chief said, "Coyote, the 

 child is yours, and you must take my daughter for your 

 wife." This was as the Coyote desired, but when he at- 

 tempted to take his wife away, all the young men, who had 

 been repulsed in their previous attentions to the Panther 

 girl, set upon the Lynx and beat him to death aud scat- 

 tered the pieces. 



