boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 77 



made his rough skin soft and white. TxiimsEm loved his wife very 

 much. Soon the spring salmon were coming up the river. TxamsEm 

 went down and clubbed them, and Bright-Cloud Woman went and 

 got them, and TxiiinsEm got poles and hung the salmon on them to 

 dry. Early the following morning Bright-Cloud Woman went down 

 to the creek again. She went into the water, and let the water come 

 up to her knees. At once there were salmon jumping. She came 

 out of the water, went to her husband, and awakened him. She 

 said, "The creek is full of silver salmon. " TxamsEm arose, went 

 down, and saw the silver salmon. The river was almost dried up, 

 so full was it of salmon. 



On the following day TxamsEm went to his canoe to get wood to 

 smoke his wife's salmon. He took along some salmon which he was 

 going to eat whde he was getting wood. When he came to a place 

 where he was going to get wood, ravens were flying over him, because 

 they noticed the salmon in TxamsEm's canoe, and TxamsEm had 

 nothing to cover his salmon with. Many ravens assembled, and 

 TxamsEm did not want to leave his salmon in the canoe, and he also 

 wanted very much to get wood to smoke all his wife's salmon. So 

 finally he took out one of his eyes to watch the salmon in the canoe; 

 and he commanded his eye, "If any ravens should come to the canoe, 

 call me, and I will come and drive them away. I don't want them 

 to eat my salmon. I am going to cut wood a little farther out there. 

 If they come to the canoe, then call me; and when I call you from 

 out there, you shall answer so that I know that you are still in my 

 canoe." Then he went. 



As soon as he had gone, the ravens came into the canoe; and his 

 eye shouted, "My eye, my eye! these ravens are about to devour 

 me!" TxamsEni replied, "Hide under the stern-board!" His eye 

 replied, "I have done so, yet the ravens are about to devour me." 

 TxamsEni went back quickly, and called to his eye while he was going 

 back, "My eye, my eye! hide under the stern-board! Oh, my eye!" 

 Soon he came down to the canoe, but both his eye and his salmon 

 were gone. He had lost everything. He stood there on the shore, 

 and lie had not a chip of wood ; so he went aboard his canoe and went 

 home, very sad. Soon he reached his camp. His beautiful wife 

 came down to meet him on the beach. She asked him, "Why do 

 you look so sad, my dear?" TxamsEm said to her, "A raven took 

 away my salmon and also my eye, and so I did not get any wood. " 

 Then his wife said, "I will make a new eye for you, better than the 

 old one." TxamsEm went up to his house with his sore eye. His 

 wife went up to the place where he lay, and said, "I will wash your 

 eye-socket. " She took water, washed his eye, and made a new one 

 for him, so that it was better than before. TxamsEm was very glad, 



