326 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth.avn.31 



Boiling-Oil River. No one gets out of it who drops into it. The 

 shaman had fallen into it. 



His supernatural power said to him, "Arise, and run around the 

 fire, following the course of the sun, four times. Then you will soon 

 get better." His feet were very sore, but he tried to do what his 

 supernatural power had told him. He ran around the fire once, and 

 twice, and three times, and four times, and his feet were healed. 

 Now, when his feet were healed from their burns, he had more power 

 than before. 



He went often into the Ghost town and brought back the souls of 

 the dead; and although men or women had been dead two, three, or 

 four days, still the shaman prince went to the Ghost town and brought 

 their souls back. 



Then the Ghosts hated him very much. They held another 

 council, and wished to kill the shaman prince; yet they- had no power, 

 because the prince's supernatural helper told him what the Ghosts 

 had planned in their council. The Ghost town became smaller 

 and smaller, because not one soul of a dead person was coming into 

 the town, for the shaman prince was always coming to the town, 

 and often during the day some Ghost fell and dropped into the 

 burning river; and he died there, which is the second death, and he 

 became a fisher; and every old Ghost dropped from the bridge and 

 became a salmon. 



The chief of the Ghosts hated the shaman prince very much. Now 

 they held another council to entrap him, and they decided to let 

 their chiof pretend to be sick and to call the shaman prince. They 

 all agreed to this. 



The following night two tall men came to the house of the chief, 

 stood in the door, and called the shaman prince to discover what 

 ailed the chief of the Ghosts. The prince told the two messengers 

 that he would go to examine him the following night. The two 

 messengers went; and the shaman invited all the people of his father's 

 tribe into his house, and told them that the Ghosts were ready to 

 fight with them. He said, "I shall go to see their chief, who pre- 

 tends to be sick because they want to kill me. Therefore be you 

 also ready for the battle against them tomorrow night. Let the 

 people in every house gather urine mixed with poison, and nasty 

 things mixed in, everything that is bad; and as soon as the evening 

 comes, stand firm and throw the fluid behind your house, so thai 

 the Ghosts can not come down to take you away. Some of them 

 will be killed by your mixture." Thus said the shaman prince to his 

 people. 



Then all the people did what he had said; and when they had pre- 

 pared the mixture on the following evening, the shaman was ready. 

 He went to the Ghosts' town, into the house of the chief. Then he 



