41. Explanation of the Beaver Hat

There was a great war between the Eagle Clan and the G̣anha’da, who lived in villages, one on each side of the river. A prince of the G̣anha’da was married to a princess of the Eagle Clan. One day the young man was jealous of his wife. He took his knife and cut her, and the young woman ran over a bridge to her uncle’s house. As soon as she got across, she fell down dead; but before she died she told her brothers that her husband had cut her with his big knife. She died, and her relatives did not weep over her. They just hid the body. Her younger brother looked just like her. He took her clothes, put them on, and pretended to be the young woman. He looked just like his sister. One day he was walking about outside. Then the young man from the village of the G̣anha’da saw his wife walking about on the other side. Therefore one evening he went across, trying to take her back. As soon as he met his wife, he entreated the young man who pretended to be a woman to go back with him. The young man replied, “I am not angry with you; you were jealous. So if you want to come in with me tonight, come, but I don’t want you to do me any harm again;” and the young man of the G̣anha’da promised that he would not do her any harm. Late in the night they went into the house; and as soon as the young man was sound asleep, the man who pretended to be the woman took his knife and cut his brother-in-law’s throat. Then he threw the body out of the house.

Now the two villages began to fight, and had a great battle. Sometimes the Eagles were victorious, sometimes the G̣anha’da. At last the G̣anha’da vanquished the Eagle Clan, and therefore the latter fled. His happened on Copper River in Alaska. The people of the Eagle Clan took to their canoes, and escaped southward. They took with them their costly coppers and many elk skins, marten garments, and other kinds of property, and they left in more than ten canoes. After traveling three days, they came to a nice bay. They tied their costly coppers together to make an anchor. On the following day, when they pulled up the anchor, their line broke, and they lost ten coppers. They went on southward for many days. When they came to the mouth of the river, they took one of their expensive crests, a stone carved like an eagle, put cedar bark around it, and cast it out to serve as an anchor, and all the canoes gathered there. On the following morning they pulled up their carved eagle; but before they could take it into their canoe, the line broke. Then they would mourn over their loss. Again they started, and went on southward until they arrived at an inlet, up which they went. There they camped. They were glad to have escaped from their enemies, but their hearts were heavy because they had lost their carved eagle and their coppers. In the great battle they had lost their princes, and they had to leave a part of their property in the houses. They were going to make this inlet their new home. On the following day three of their young people went out in a canoe across the inlet; and when they reached the foot of a steep cliff, behold! a large halibut came up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the canoe with the three persons—two princesses and one prince. The people on the other side saw it. Therefore two of their brave men went to kill the monster who had devoured their prince and their princesses. They crossed the inlet in their canoe, having their large knives tied to the right wrist. As soon as they reached the foot of the steep rock, a halibut came up, opened its mouth, and swallowed the canoe with the two brave men; but as soon as the halibut had swallowed them, they cut it inside with their knives. They cut up its intestines until it died. Then the supernatural halibut felt the pains in its stomach, jumped out of the water, and struck the water with its tail. It swam around the inlet, and finally ran ashore and died there. Then those who had remained alive went down to the beach, and saw that the great supernatural halibut was dead. They cut it open, and saw the two canoes and five persons. Then they sang their mourning-song.

Before they left their camp, one of their princes went up into the woods to refresh himself, for he was in deep sorrow. lie went on and on until he came to a plain. There he found a large lake. He stood on the shore of the Jake, weeping, on account of his brothers who were swallowed by the supernatural halibut; and while he was weeping there, he heard a noise. He looked up, and, behold! there was a large beaver on the water, with copper eyes, copper ears, copper teeth, and copper claws. It struck the water with its tail, making a noise like thunder. Then the young man went back to the camp, and told his people that he had seen a large beaver in the lake above their camp. On the following morning they went to hunt the large beaver. Soon they came to the lake, but they saw nothing. Everything was quiet. While they were still standing there, they heard the sound of a drum, followed by a mourning-song; and after a while they saw the large beaver come out of the water, with copper eyes, copper claws, copper ears, copper teeth, They agreed to kill it, for they needed the copper. Therefore they tried hard to break the dam in the large lake. After many days they succeeded. Before the lake was dry, the beaver came out. The men killed it and skinned it, taking off the copper claws, the ears, eyes, and teeth.[1] As soon as they had killed it, they went down and took the beaver to be their crest, and therefore the Eagle Clan use it now. No other clan can use this large beaver. When the head chief Leg:é’°x makes a great potlatch, he wears it on his head, and four head men take hold of the headdress, and one of each clan, so that the people may know that he alone is the head chief of all the Tsimshian. They always kept the beaver hat in their family.