boas] TSIMSHIAN MYTHS 199 



father invited the same shaman to come and to use all his spells. He 

 did the same as before; and after he. had danced, he told the boy's 

 parents that the chief of the Spring Salmon was now better, and that 

 he would start soon to bring the boy up the river. He continued, 

 "Now I will give you my advice again. Give orders to all your brave 

 men who know how to fast in order to catch animals, and who have 

 eaten 'medicine,' to obtain this power throughout the winter. I 

 will give the same orders to my own tribe; and you yourself keep away 

 from your wife until the spring salmon stop running up the river. I 

 shall use my spells every day in your house. Let all the old women 

 work on the salmon nets. Do not allow young women to touch the 

 twine if their lives are unclean. Thus let every age have its own 

 duty. Then let all the old men make new poles to be used this 

 spring — those who are ready to fast." Thus said the great shaman 

 to the prince's father. 



Therefore the father gave orders to his brave men and to the old 

 women. Now the shaman ordered his own people to do the same, 

 and therefore the two tribes made ready for the arrival of the spring 

 salmon; and they also made ready their platforms on the side of a 

 steep rock alongside of the canyon of G'itslala'sEr. 



Now the great shaman came to the chief's house almost every 

 evening, accompanied by all his friends. He tried to find out whether 

 the spring salmon would arrive soon. Now the spring was coming; 

 and as soon as the ice. was floating in the river, the shaman said to all 

 the people who had assembled in the chief's house, ' ' I have seen in my 

 vision the chief of the Spring Salmon, and all his people accompanying 

 him, leaving their village today, together with the prince." The 

 great shaman was dancing every day. After eight days had passed, 

 he said, "Now they have arrived at the mouth of Skeena River. The 

 chief of the Spring Salmon wants to rest at the mouth of the river 

 for a while." 



Now we will return to the Spring Salmon. While they were 

 resting at the mouth of Skeena River, the Spring Salmon children 

 said, "Let us keep together and go up the (malwilnEm?)]" Soon the 

 time came, and the Spring Salmon moved up the river slowly. They 

 went up farther and farther, until they reached the mouth of the 

 canyon of G'itslala'sEr. There they rested again. 



Now, the shaman had seen in his vision that the spring salmon 

 were resting at the mouth of the canyon. Therefore, he ordered all 

 the people to make haste and to go down to their platforms and to 

 have their nets and poles ready. They all went down quickly, and each 

 put down his pole with the net at one end. Then the great shaman 

 went down himself with his pole on his shoulder. He was sitting on 

 liis platform, and he put down Ms pole with the net at one end. 

 The prince's father also went down. Then the people caught many 



