106 
The Snag-of-the-sand-bar emblem was^ acquired at the time when 
Uksmalks, of this house long ago, Saiks of Gitrhahla,^ and Qasrh,^ of the 
Gitsees tribe of the Tsimsyan, discovered it together and tried to pull it 
out of the water. They succeeded in lifting it up for a while and seeing 
it from top to bottom. But the rising tide swept it away. They knew 
it to be a supernatural being, as along its shaft were many beings, some of 
which were children. Every one of them had a name. Weegyet's ancestor, 
therefore, adopted them as his own crest, and their features were repro- 
duced on his totem pole at Gitsegyukla. The first beings that appeared 
on the Snag at the top had only heads and no bodies. They were called 
Wilwigyet, Skulls, or Many-skulls the second was Thunder-bird (Hrse- 
teyceHtu)f with many small beings underneath. As the Snag was pulled 
farther out of the water, appeared Large-eyes (Weneel), with a long beak; 
and then Weneel, with a large human face, whose body did not emerge 
from the water. The discoverers looked under the water, there to behold 
a huge Grizzly-bear-of-the-water (Medeegem-dzawey'aks ) on whose back 
stood the Snag. Qasrh, the leader of the expedition, said to his colleagues 
of the Gispwudwada^ phratry: “This is a good crest for you; it belongs to 
you.” And this is how this emblem and its figures originated. 
According to Charles Mark's account, the conquest of the Weneel 
happened otherwise. Small-frogs ( Mas-ranaa’o ) was starving with his 
family, up the Nass. As he stood at the edge of a lake, a monster emerged 
from the water — the Weneel, Large-eyes, with a huge human face. Assisted 
by his family, he cut this being in half and succeeded in pulling that part 
of his body out of the water. He gave a feast at a later date, and adopted 
Large-ej^es as a crest. It is represented with a large human face, and a 
body without legs — just a trunk. 
This family also acquired, in different circumstances, another Grizzly- 
bear crest, the Grizzly-bear with two fins, represented as a separate carving, 
on the body of which appear engraved faces. A supernatural being was 
living in a small lake at the foot of Stekyawden.® After its discovery, a 
party of Gitsegyukla people under the direction of Small-frogs (Mas- 
ranaa^ojy proceeded to the lake in a body, built a raft, and conjured the 
monster out of the water. When it emerged. Small-frogs hit it with his 
war club, dragged it out of the water on to the raft, and placed it on the 
shore. It was only stunned, and it tried to run back to the lake, while 
the people sang, “The Bear changes its position.” They finally killed it 
and gave the skin to Small-frogs for him to reproduce as his crest. On 
its back were two fins, like those of a fish, and several faces; and its paws 
consisted of four human faces.^ 
When the maternal ancestors of Weegyet still lived at Temlaham, at 
the beginning, a party of hunters proceeded up the Skeena to their hunting 
•According to Mark Weegyet’a account. 
*0f the Gispwudwada phratry. 
•Of the Ranhada (Raven) phratry. 
•Alec Brown (Wawralaw) termed these small beings "Hiawildaeget,” or, "Pretending to go to war." Some of 
these represent the warriors carrying arrow quivers, others, those that were killed — for instance, one whose head 
is turned back on his shoulders. 
•Corresponding to the Gitksan Fireweed. 
•Rocher-d6boul6, near Hazelton. 
•This account clc^ely resembles that of Kararom-larh® of Gitsegyukla, but the differences are intentional; 
the Grizzly-bear-of-the-water of these two families are not quite alike, and are supposed to have originated independ- 
ently. 
