68 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. axn. 31 



stood there above those three holes. He repeated the same words 

 as before, "Come up to me, big steelhead salmon! We will see who 

 is the stronger." And when he said so, the steelhead salmon hit 

 him again, and he lay there like one dead. His heart was swollen. 

 When his eyes opened again, he saw the steelhead salmon again, 

 which lay right in the middle of the last hole. He went down slowly 

 and caught it; and ho was very glad to have the steelhead salmon, 

 for he was very hungry. 



He did not know how to prepare his food, so he sat down and eased 

 himself. Then he asked his excrements, "What shall I do, excre- 

 ments?" They answered, "Steam it in a hole, steam it in a hole." 

 Then he gathered firewood. Then TxamsEm gathered stones, heated 

 them, and when the stones were red-hot, he put them in a hole. He 

 also went and gathered leaves of the skunk-cabbage to cover it. 

 Then he cut the salmon lengthwise, and covered it with the skunk- 

 cabbage leaves, and poured water on it. When the salmon was done, 

 white crows gathered over him. Then TxamsEm said to the White 

 Crows, "Grandchildren, go and borrow for me some dishes, so that I 

 may eat my salmon." The White Crows went and brought mussel- 

 shells to TxamsEm. When he saw them, he said, "No, that is not 

 what I want. I want real dishes. Go again and bring them!" 

 They went, and brought clamshells. Then TxamsEm became angry, 

 and said, "Go again and bring me real dishes." They went, and 

 brought all kinds of shells. Now TxamsEm himself went to get real 

 dishes. As soon as he had gone, all the crows came and ate Txam- 

 sEm's salmon. After they had eaten it, they put over the hole a 

 large hemlock tree that stood near by. When TxamsEm came back, 

 he saw that the hole was empty, and all he saw was that the ground 

 was covered with the crows' excrements. He looked up, and, 

 behold! multitudes of crows covered the branches of a large tree. 

 Then all the crows flew away; and TxamsEm cursed them, and said, 

 "As you are flying there, you shall be all black." Therefore all crows 

 are black. 



(12) txa'msem and lagobola" 



TxamsEm went down the river, and arrived at its mouth. There 

 he met a man named Lagobola, and TxamsEm talked to him. He said, 

 "Brother, where have you been?" Lagobola replied, "I come from 

 the south, and I heard of your fame, which has spread all over the 

 world." Thus spoke Lagobola to TxamsEm. Lagobola also said, 

 ■"I also hear about your supernatural power." Then TxamsEm 

 :said, "Well, Brother Lagobola, let us go to the sea tomorrow to hunt 

 sea otters!" and Lagobola agreed. They were going to Dundas 

 Island. TxamsEm killed three seals and two sea otters; and he 

 camped there first. While he was making a fire, Lagobola came to 



