A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Boas’s German rendering of Matthias’s story glosses Ksemnä’osö as the mountain lioness. She is Tsag’atiläo’s existing wife when he brings home the woman rescued from the bears. Although she promises to treat the newcomer as a sister, her stated intention is to kill her. Tsag’atiläo warns the bride not to watch Ksemnä’osö eat and gives his first wife all his hunting catch, despite loving the newcomer and giving her none.

The new bride eventually peeks and sees Ksemnä’osö holding an entire seal, filled with food to her neck. Ksemnä’osö notices the gaze and kills her by biting her throat. When the hunter returns, she claims the woman is sleeping. He discovers the body and waits until Ksemnä’osö herself sleeps, with fire issuing from her mouth and eyes. His living club severs her head, but the parts quickly join again.

Tsag’atiläo repeats the attack and places supernatural herbs on the wound, preventing reunion. He removes her heart and swings it four times over the murdered bride, restoring her life. The couple divide and bury Ksemnä’osö’s remains separately. Her mountain-lion children retrieve the parts, mourn together and attempt revenge, but Tsag’atiläo escapes into his canoe. The text does not say that they restore their mother.

The ending retains the children’s grief alongside their mother’s violence. Regeneration, the fire during sleep and the restorative use of her heart are separate powers in this account; none is presented as an ordinary zoological characteristic of mountain lions. Matthias’s teller attribution appears after the group of stories15–18 in the 1895 volume.

Mountain-lion wifeFire from mouth and eyes during sleepSevered parts rejoinHerbs prevent regenerationHeart restores another woman
01

Origins & earliest records

Franz Boas, Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas (Berlin: A. Asher & Co., 1895), a collected reprint of earlier journal installments. The preface describes recordings mediated variously through Chinook Jargon and direct translation from Indigenous languages; it does not specify one method for every story.

02

Records & interpretation

Complete German story15, Tsag’atiläo, pp.294–300, read through the son’s underwater rescue and return. Attribution of15–18 to Matthias of Metlakatla is printed on305.

In the literature

“Da wussten die Berglöwen sogleich, dass sie todt sei.”
Franz Boas · Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas
XXIII. Sagen der Tsimschian; 15. Tsag’atiläo, complete pp.294–300; Matthias attribution p.305; brief exact German prose p.296 · Boas’s German collected narrative witness; no independent Tsimshian-language translation claimed

Ksemnä’osö, named as Mountain Lion woman, is Tsag’atiläo’s first wife. Jealous of his second wife, she conceals her intention to kill her and does so when watched while eating. Fire issues from her mouth and eyes as she sleeps. Initial decapitation is followed by rejoining, but Tsag’atiläo later prevents restoration and destroys her. Her heart is involved in the second wife’s revival. Ksemnä’osö’s Mountain Lion children find and mourn their mother’s remains and attempt revenge, while Tsag’atiläo escapes in his boat.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas

    Franz Boas, recorder and editor; Matthias of Metlakatla, teller · 1895

    Tsimshian section, complete story15, Tsag’atiläo, pp.294–300; Matthias attribution p.305.

  2. 02

    Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas — XXIII. Sagen der Tsimschian; 15. Tsag’atiläo, complete pp.294–300; Matthias attribution p.305

    Franz Boas; Matthias of Megtlak’qä’tla, explicitly credited narrator for stories15–18 · 1895

    Berlin: A. Asher & Co.,1895; complete German story294–300 read in OCR and original printed pages; explicit15–18Matthias attribution305 visually inspected. Physical307–313=printed294–300 in selected range.

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.

Indianische Sagen von der Nord-Pacifischen Küste Amerikas — XXIII. Sagen der Tsimschian; 15. Tsag’atiläo, complete pp.294–300; Matthias attribution p.305

Berlin: A. Asher & Co.,1895; complete German story294–300 read in OCR and original printed pages; explicit15–18Matthias attribution305 visually inspected. Physical307–313=printed294–300 in selected range.

  1. Ksemnä’osö, named as Mountain Lion woman, is Tsag’atiläo’s first wife. Jealous of his second wife, she conceals her intention to kill her and does so when watched while eating. Fire issues from her mouth and eyes as she sleeps. Initial decapitation is followed by rejoining, but Tsag’atiläo later prevents restoration and destroys her. Her heart is involved in the second wife’s revival. Ksemnä’osö’s Mountain Lion children find and mourn their mother’s remains and attempt revenge, while Tsag’atiläo escapes in his boat.

    XXIII. Sagen der Tsimschian; 15. Tsag’atiläo, complete pp.294–300; Matthias attribution p.305

No whole book, performance or independent Tsimshian-language translation claimed. Songs and practical treatment/preparation procedures excluded. Subsequent English regional parallels not yet independently read here.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textBoas 1895 original German editionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

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