96 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ANN. 31 



TxamsEm, "Whose darts and arrows are these?" and TxamsEm 

 stood there speechless. He did not know what to answer to the 

 young man. The bright young man asked lum again, " Whose darts 

 and arrows are these?" TxamsEm was doubtful what to answer, 

 for he had not heard what Chief Grouse had answered when the 

 supernatural being was standing at his side the day before. TxamsEm 

 replied after the second question, "These are my own darts and 

 arrows, my own, my own tsidan, Raven's tsidan, his own tsidan." 1 

 Then the supernatural bright young man was angry, because 

 TxamsEm was proud and had not answered the right way. He said 

 to TxamsEm, "I shall break your bad arrows," and he threw them 

 down the steep rock. Then the bright young man vanished from his 

 side, and TxamsEm turned back. He had not a single arrow left. 

 He had only his bow and his hunting-knife. He felt very bad, 

 turned back, and cut his own belly with his knife. He took out 

 part of liis own intestines, and put them around his walking-staff. 

 Late in the evening he came home, and his children were glad when 

 their father came home with his staff with the intestines wound 

 around it. Then the children sang a song — 



" Only my father brought home intestines of wild animals! " 

 Then they unwrapped the intestines from the staff, and TxamsEm 

 was sitting down by the side of the fire without a word, looking at 

 his children while they were unwrapping the intestines from the 

 staff. Soon the children had taken off the intestines, and they threw 

 them on the fire to cook them; and as soon as they were scorched, 

 TxamsEm fell back fainting. Therefore his wife and his two children 

 flew away from him. Thus Chief Grouse perceived that it was 

 TxamsEm. He took his dead body and threw it down the steep 

 mountain. 



After TxamsEm had lain there a while, he came back to life, arose, 

 and sat down at the foot of the high cliff. He felt that his belly was 

 empty, for he had no intestines. Therefore the raven has no intes- 

 tines now. 



(36) TXa'mSEM RETURNS TO THE WOLVES 2 



TxamsEM went on, and the wound in his belly pained him 

 much. He went a long way, not knowing which way to turn. Still 

 he remembered his promise to Chief Wolf to return to him soon. 

 Therefore he searched everywhere trying to find the Wolves' village. 

 After a while he met two hunters, and asked them, " Will you tell me 

 where the village of Chief Wolf is ?" The two young men said, "We 

 belong to Chief Wolf's people. " — " Will you take me to liim ? ' ' — " Yes, " 

 replied the two hunters, "come and go with us!" TxamsEm was 



of this word is unknown to me.— F. B. 2 Notes, p. 720. 



