324 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 



In the evening the prince began his shaman's songs, and his attend- 

 ants' songs followed. After the first song, he stood at the end of 

 the large fire, and said, "This man's soul is now in the village of the 

 Ghosts, and my supernatural helper says that I shall take his soul 

 back again to his body from the village of the Ghosts. Bring me a new 

 cedar-bark mat, and let all the people in this house beat time on a 

 plank, and thus help my attendants, and let them sing as loud as they 

 can until I come back!" Then all the people did as he had wanted 

 them to. 



Then he put on the new cedar-bark mat and started in the dark of 

 the night. Everybody in the house was singing. They beat the 

 skin drum and beat the boards with sticks. Now the shaman prince 

 went to the graveyard; and when he had arrived there, he saw a 

 quiet river, and the village of the Ghosts on the other side. There 

 was a narrow bridge across the river. He went across, and ran as 

 fast as he could, his supernatural power leading him toward the 

 chief of the Ghosts. 



The shaman entered the chief Ghost's house, and there he saw the 

 soul of the dead man sitting in the rear of the house. The chief of 

 the Ghosts was sitting by his side, and all the Ghosts were assembled 

 in the house to see the newcomer. The shaman went right hi, and 

 saw the soul of the one who had just died sitting there. Then the 

 shaman prince took him by the shoulders, and said, "I will take you 

 back to your body;" and ho went out of the house of the chief of the 

 Ghosts. 



The prince came back to the house in which the dead body was 

 while all the people were singing. He entered, and said that he had 

 taken the soul of the dead man and brought it back again. He kept his 

 left hand closed, and rattled with the rattle which he held in his right 

 hand. He went around the fire four times, following the course of 

 the sun. Then he went toward the body of the dead man, and put 

 the soul of the dead body into it. As soon as the soul went into the 

 body, the one who had been dead sat up. He had come back to life. 



Then all the people were astonished to see what the shaman prince 

 had done. The news of the prince's success soon spread over the 

 whole country. After some time another relative of his father died 

 while the shaman prince was absent. When the prince came home, 

 he saw that his father grieved. He asked him, "-What makes you 

 so sorrowful, father?" and they informed him that one of his father's 

 nieces had died three days before. 



So the prince ordered his people to assemble; and when all the 

 people were in, the shaman prince went, as he had done before, and 

 brought back the soul of his cousin from the town of the Ghosts. 

 Then all the villagers round about spread the fame of the shaman 

 prince, and of his ability to bring back the souls of dead people from 



