54 FEANZ BOAS ON THE 



light in his possession, and that it is considered the exploit of the raven to have obtained 

 the daylight. 



Far less important is the raA'en in the mythology of the Bilqnla. They have also 

 the tradition referring to the origin of the sun ; and, the raven is said to have made the 

 salmon. But, besides this, only trifling adventures, in which he appears as extremely 

 greedy, are recorded. 



Similar traditions are told by the Çatloltq. They say that the raven accompanied the 

 son of the deity in his migrations all over the world ; but, besides this, he has no connec- 

 tion whatever with their religious ideas, and he is not considered the creator of the sun 

 or of the water. From these facts it appears that the raven myths have their origin 

 among the northern tribes. 



The next series of traditions we have to consider are those referring to the sun ; and 

 among these a certain class, in which the mink is considered the son of the sun, is parti- 

 cularly remarkable. These legends are recorded only among the Bilqula and Kwakiutl. 

 The resemblance of this legend to that of the Greek Phaeton is quite remarkable. The 

 Wik'c'nok' tell it in the following form : — Once upon a time mink played grace-hoops, 

 with the ducks and mink won. They next shot with arrows at a stick, and mink proved 

 to be the best marksman. Then all the ducks abused him and maltreated him, and finally 

 broke his bow ; and the ducks said, " We do not care to play any longer with you. You 

 do not even know where your father is." Mink became very sorry. He cried and ran to 

 his mother, whom he asked where his father was. She said, " Now, stop your crying. 

 Your father is in the sky. His name is Toatusela'kilis and he carries the sun every day." 

 Then mink resolved to visit him. He went to his uncle, Hanatlinaqto'o, and asked him 

 to make a new bow. When he had got the latter, he took his arrows and shot one to the 

 sky. The arrow stuck in the sky. The second arrow hit the notch of the first. And so he 

 continued until a chain was formed reaching from the sky to the earth. Then mink 

 climbed up and arrived in the sky. There he met his father's second wife. When she 

 recognized mink, she said, " Your father will be glad to see j'^ou. You may carry the sun 

 in his stead." When it grew dark the father returned home His wife said, " Your son 

 has come. H(> will stay with you. Now, let him carry the sun in your stead." Toatu- 

 sela'kilis was very glad, and early in the morning he roused his son. He gave him his 

 blanket and his nose-ornament, and bade him ascend slowly behind the mountains. He 

 warned him not to go too fast, else the earth would begin to burn. Mink took his 

 father's clothing and slowly ascended. When it was almost noon, he got impatient. He 

 began to run and to kick the clouds which obstructed his way, and thus he set fire to the 

 earth. Man, in order to escape the flames, jumped into the ocean ; and part of them were 

 transformed into animals, part into real man (before they had been half animal, half man). 

 Toatusela'kilis's wife in heaven, however, called her husband, and bade him throw mink 

 from heaven to the earth. He seized mink, tore off his blanket and his nose-ornament, 

 and flung him into the sea, crying, " If you had gone slowly, as I ordered you, you might 

 have stayed here." Mink fell into the sea between some drifting logs. There, a man found 

 him, and carried him home. 



Similar traditions are found among the Coast Salish tribes. They all refer to the sun, 

 but the mink does not ascend to heaven, some other animals or two brothers taking his 

 place. 



