BOAS] TSIMSH1AN MYTHS 201 



four shamans who were carrying the large Spring Salmon on the mat. 

 Before entering the chief's house, he ordered all the young people to 

 come out, for they were all unclean. He let all the aged people enter 

 in front of the large Spring Salmon; and he made all the shamans 

 dress up, men and women. Then the crowd moved into the house, 

 and the chief laid a good-sized cedar board in the center of the house. 

 Then all the old men and women were ready. The male and female 

 shamans were dressed up, and came in after the large Salmon had 

 been placed on the new cedar board. All the shamans marched around 

 the fire, four times. All the singers were ready, sitting around the 

 house. Then the great shaman said, "Let two very old women 

 shamans get ready to cut this great chief Spring Salmon!" Then 

 two very old women took up their large mussel-shell knives (these 

 were very useful in olden times), and the whole assembly kept silence. 

 Then one of the old women shamans said, "I will call the names of 

 this chief of the Spring Salmon;" and she began to call, "My dear 

 chief Spring Salmon, named Quartz Nose, named Two Gills On Back, 

 named Lightning Following One Another, named Three Jumps!" 



Now they began to cut the large Spring Salmon along its big 

 stomach. They cut along easily, and took out the large stomach; 

 and one of the women cut the large Salmon, and the other cut open 

 the large stomach. When she opened it, behold ! a small child was in 

 it. She. took it up easily, and the great shaman began to sing, while 

 all the other shamans, male and female, swung their rattles. The 

 singers were singing as loud as they could, and the great shaman was 

 running around the small child. It. was the size of a span from the 

 middle finger to the thumb. 



While the shamans were working around the prince, he began to 

 grow very quickly, not as children grow up nowadays. He came to 

 beof his former size. 



Then he told his story — how the Spring Salmon had taken him 

 away the same night when he left his father's home; and he told his 

 father's people how he reached the village of the Salmon. He con- 

 tinued, "I did not. know where I was until the old Mouse Woman 

 came to my side and asked for my ear-ornaments. Then she told 

 me as follows: 'Tins is the town of the Spring Salmon which you see. 

 The chief was sick for two years, until you took him out of your 

 mother's box. Then he was a little better. Therefore he sent his 

 attendants when your mother was angry with you.'" And he told 

 his story right, along — how he had lived at the town of the Spring 

 Salmon until the chief was quite cured, and how the chief sent his 

 people often to Skeena River to see if salmon (that is, the leaves of 

 cottonwood) were in the river, until the messengers brought the news 

 that the season had arrived. Then they moved, and first passed the 

 town of the Silver Salmon, to whom the chief gave the good news 



