boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 635 



chief sent a slave to see whether the boy was really alive in the grave, and ordered 

 him to bring the boy home Nea .] The chief ordered the door and smoke hole of 

 his house to be closed to prevent the escape of the boy. When he looked for his 

 wife's body, he found it dried up Ts 5. The chief took a female slave to nurse the 

 boy Ts. The child grew up quickly Nea. The chief washed him to make him strong 

 Ts5. He was called Sucking Intestines Ts, N. [The boy would go of ten to the island 

 to get chewing-gum from the spruce trees, and his uncle burned it for him. The 

 slaves always took him over to the island to play. One day when they were burning 

 gum, a flame of fire consumed the boy. The island is called up to this day Where 

 She Pretends To Make Maggots Out Of Herself. (Here the version Ts ends. It is in 

 no way connected with the Raven myth. See p. 781.)] 



After two days the boy began to cry and would not eat. He asked another boy 

 for gum that he was chewing, and then chewed and swallowed all the gum in the 

 village. The boy who had given him the gum became his friend and companion. 

 They went about together; and whenever they found a tree with gum on it, the 

 boy would smear his body with it Ts 5. [Another boy of the village was his friend 

 and constant companion Nea, Neo. — Implied also in N.] The boys went about 

 shooting birds, and finally shot each a woodpecker Ts 5, Nea [a bird named 

 g'itg-insa' and a woodpecker N. They put on bird masks Ne6] and flew upward 

 Ts 5. N [to the upper world Ne6 to "our father" (this is not the proper term: 

 it should be gl'l "chief") Nea]. They came to the house of two kingfisher girls and 

 began to peck wood. The girls said, "Is that you. Sucking Intestines?" He asked 

 in reply, "Where is the hole of heaven?" They answered, "It is too far for you." 

 The boys flew on, and came to the Mouse Woman. They heard her calling "XI" 

 and when they began to peck wood, she said, "Enter, Sucking Intestines!" She 

 set food before them; but he did not accept any, because he was still full of the 

 gum that he had eaten, while the other boy ate. Then he asked, "How far is 

 the hole of heaven?" She replied, "Four times it opens, four times it closes, 

 count!" and then told him all that was going to happen in the sky. When they 

 came to the hole of heaven, Sucking Intestines counted; and when it opened the 

 fourth time, he flew through it. Then his friend tried, but he was caught in the 

 hole Ts 5. [Sucking Intestines put on the skin of the g-itg-insa'; his friend, that 

 of the woodpecker. As they flew along, the boy cried, "G-it, g-it, g-it g-insa- 

 a-a-a'! ' ' and the woodpecker, ' ' Hau, hau! ' ' They came to a town ;. and some one said, 

 "Son of the ghost, it is not far where the heavens close." They flew on; and in 

 every town which they reached, the people said the same to them. Finally they 

 came to the hole in heaven, flew through it, and .took off their skins. The boy's 

 friend remained sitting near the hole N. They came to the upper world Nea.] The 

 boy went on, and killed a duck (me'eq) and put on its skin Ts 5, and sat down near the 

 well of the chief above N, Nea [of the sun Ts 5; of gl'l the "chief" Neb]. The 

 chief's daughter came out N, Nea, Neo [accompanied by a slave Ts 5] to draw 

 water Ts 5, Nea, N. She caught the bird [birds Nea] and took it into the house 

 Ts 5, Nea, Ne6. [He transformed himself into the leaf of a cedar and floated on 

 thewater N (here the version N breaks off and continues as the tale of the liberation 

 of daylight, see p. 641).] She took the bird [birds Nea] into her room, intending to 

 keep it as a pet. Theii the boy took off his skin and married her Nea. [Qwa'qenit 

 took off his bird mask and married the girl Ne6. — In the night, when the girl was 

 asleep, he took off his bird skin and embraced her. When she felt, how soft he was, 

 she remained quiet. He gave her some gum to swallow Ts 5.] In the morning, 

 when the girl did not come out of her room, her father sent a slave-girl to call her. 

 When she saw the young man, she was afraid, and told the chieftainess what she 

 had seen. The latter informed her husband, who called his daughter and the youth 



