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Overview
A widow and her daughter fall behind the canoes travelling from Metlakahtla to the Nass fishing grounds. While they shelter beside a high rock, a man visits the daughter at night and asks to marry her. She agrees, but his touch stings like nettles. Partridges and fuel appear at their camp. He promises that their son will become an exceptional hunter and that he will remain with him. The women resume their seasonal journey through the Nass and Skeena fishing grounds before returning to Metlakahtla for winter.
The father visits again after the boy is born and later meets his growing son near the original campsite. He teaches him to make traps and snares and attaches hunting success to prescribed conduct. He also warns him against marrying too soon. When the young man’s traps are repeatedly destroyed, his father appears beside an immense tree and tells him to fell it for a lifetime’s supply. The narrative identifies it as a gigantic devil’s-club and calls the hunter the son of Devil’s-Club Tree. The father disappears after speaking; the text does not say that felling the tree kills him.
The son discovers a great wolverine breaking his traps. His extraordinary speed lets him pursue it repeatedly until it climbs trees in exhaustion. Under threat, Wolverine offers a succession of supposed plant secrets, then escapes laughing. The hunter finally forces a disclosure that the edition renders uncertainly as rotten fern. Following the animal’s last advice, he becomes still more successful and wealthy, providing feasts for the community. The plant terminology and ritual instructions belong to the story’s translated witness, rather than a practical medicinal guide.
Eventually he marries his uncle’s daughter and has a son. Hearing that a white she-bear is travelling down the frozen Skeena, he runs out with his spear. Before he can strike, she kicks the ice and he drowns beneath it; she barely reaches the bank. Although the earlier warning concerns marriage, the ending does not report his wife’s infidelity or an explicit curse by his father. The plant father, human-looking son and speaking Wolverine retain their separate roles within one connected account.
Origins & earliest records
Franz Boas, Tsimshian Mythology, based on texts recorded by Henry W. Tate, published in 1916 in the Bureau of American Ethnology’s thirty-first report for 1909–1910. Boas translated Tate’s free interlinear English renderings of his Tsimshian texts. The preface notes Tate’s editorial choices and some influence from published collections; the 1916 volume omits the original-language text.
Records & interpretation
Story 22, The Widow and her Daughter, complete pp. 172–177, ending before story 23; preface pp. 31–32.
In the literature
“The man went under the ice and died there.”
22. The Widow and her Daughter, complete pp.172–177; brief prose p.177 · Franz Boas, based on Henry W.Tate’s free interlinear rendering, Preface31
A storm strands a widow and her daughter; a night visitor marries the daughter and supplies food and fuel. Their son grows rapidly, meets the supernatural father and becomes a successful hunter. After his traps begin failing, his father reappears and directs him to a great Devil’s-Club tree. The son confronts a Wolverene who has damaged his traps and repeatedly gives evasive answers before disclosing his secret. The young man becomes wealthy, marries an uncle’s daughter and has a son. When a white she-bear breaks the river ice during his attempted attack, he drowns while the bear survives.
Selected bibliography
Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.
- 01
Tsimshian Mythology
Story 22, The Widow and her Daughter, complete pp. 172–177, ending before story 23; preface pp. 31–32.
- 02
Tsimshian Mythology — 22. The Widow and her Daughter, complete pp.172–177
Washington: Government Printing Office,1916; Thirty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,1909–1910. Complete selected English narrative(s) and attached technical footnotes read in retained OCR. Original selected opening/identity/ending pages visually checked. Preface31–32 translation provenance independently inspected. Comparative chapters not included in this reading claim.
Family & connections
A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.
Located primary passages
Specific passages supporting details in this entry, grouped by their published witness.
Tsimshian Mythology — 22. The Widow and her Daughter, complete pp.172–177
Washington: Government Printing Office,1916; Thirty-first Annual Report of the Bureau of American Ethnology,1909–1910. Complete selected English narrative(s) and attached technical footnotes read in retained OCR. Original selected opening/identity/ending pages visually checked. Preface31–32 translation provenance independently inspected. Comparative chapters not included in this reading claim.
- A storm strands a widow and her daughter; a night visitor marries the daughter and supplies food and fuel. Their son grows rapidly, meets the supernatural father and becomes a successful hunter. After his traps begin failing, his father reappears and directs him to a great Devil’s-Club tree. The son confronts a Wolverene who has damaged his traps and repeatedly gives evasive answers before disclosing his secret. The young man becomes wealthy, marries an uncle’s daughter and has a son. When a white she-bear breaks the river ice during his attempted attack, he drowns while the bear survives.
Selected narrative only; not whole volume or comparative chapter. No songs, ritual/healing, plant use, food preparation, practical hunting or ornament-making instructions reproduced.
References
Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.
- Primary textBoas/Tate 1916: Devil’s-Club Tree and his son (Tate’s account)Research access: 2026-10-05
Image credits
A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.