STORIES 441

After eating a meal, the sung prepared to skin the boy, as a hunter
removes an animal’s pelt. He placed him on his back on the ground and
blew on the youth’s chest to separate the hair and facilitate a clean in-
cision. When his skin had been cut vertically, from throat to stomach, the
youth jumped up and cried out loudly. The sning and family fell over as
if dead; the sudden shock had expelled their spirits. The youth grabbeda
spear and fled down the mountain. He had nearly reached its base when
a burst of light, almost equal to that of the sun in intensit y, came from
the smumg, and stunned the youth. After a time he recovered and con-
tinued his flight; this time he got almost as far as the bank of the river
in the valley, when he was again stricken by the beam of radiance. Once
more recovering, the lad fled down the river’s edge, with the smug pound-
ing along after him. When the animal had almost captured him, he dived
into the river and swam to the other bank, down which he continued his
fight. After a little delay, the svg likewise crossed the river and took
up the chase, but again his quarry swam across. Thus the pursuit was
continued with crossings and re-crossings of the stream until the village
was approached, when the smug abandoned his efforts to recapture the
youth and returned home.

The boy got back to the village without further adventures. After
describing his experiences, he asked the people to join him in an attack
upon the smug, adding that the weapons which could prevail against him
would be cloths stained with menstrual fluid, or with the blood which
follows the delivery of a child. The people agreed to join in the expedition,
and for about two months carefully saved all such stained cloths, instead
ofimmediately hiding them. When they had collected sufficient they set
out for the svumg’s house. Arriving near the spot, they built a fire, tied
the cloths to long sticks and set them alight, then advanced four at a time,
and cast the flaming brands into the house. The sug used his power to
strike down the first group, but another took its place from the column
of fours. Soon the first four revived and posted themselves in the rear,
as did each group on recovering consciousness. Thus the assailants main-
tained their strength and the siege continued for a considerable period,
until the interior of the house was steeped in poison, which at last killed
the occupants. Then the attackers entered and carried away as spoil
the goods which the svg had looted from coffins.

THE VANITY OF Snumuq*?

Long, long ago a number of the young people of Kwatna went up the
river to Nutitigokink to get hump-back salmon which abounded there.
“For another version of this story see Boas, p. 83.