boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 643 



away, Tit 117, Anvik " 24.] She swallowed it [felt it, but could not dislodge it Tl 4; 

 it hurt her, Anvik 9], and she became pregnant. [Raven made himself dead to be 

 reborn by this woman. She became pregnant M6] Her father had her lie on 

 beaver skins and other furs Tl 4 [copper plates and beaver skins Tl 5; a hole lined 

 with furs Tla]. The child did not want to be born there Tla [she could not give birth 

 there Tl 5, Tla]. Then her father ordered the people to put moss in the hole, and 

 then she gave birth to the child Tl 5, Tla. [An old woman took her to a mossy place 

 in the woods Tl 4 ; T16 omits that the daughter could not give birth on costly furs, but 

 states that she is placed on a layer of moss; in M6 he is born out of her thigh.] Then 

 the chief cut a basket in two and made a cradle out of one-half of it. Ever since that 

 time cradles of this type are used Tib. [Raven At Head Of Nass River knew what was 

 the matter, still he asked his daughter what had happened. He asked Him Who 

 Knows Everything That Happens, "Where does that child come from? " He replied, 

 "His eyes look like those of Raven." Therefore he was called Raven. They named 

 him Raven At Head Of Nass River T16. The child resembled a lit tie raven, Anvik 10] 

 His eyes were bright, and moved about rapidly Tla [he stared with great eyes, Anvik 

 10]. 



The grandfather [chief and ehieftainess Ts, No, b] was glad Tl 4 [thought a great 

 deal of him T16, Tl 5, Tit 117; and could refuse him nothing, Tit 118.— He quickly 

 grew up, and his grandfather loved him, Hai 6]. The boy was washed regularly Na 

 [and pulled by head and feet by his grandfather, in order to make him grow Ska; 

 they washed him and dressed him nicely. — His grandparents, uncles, and aunts 

 cared for him, feeding him on deer fat only, Anvik 10]. He began to creep about 

 [back of the people Tla]. The chief smoothed and cleaned the floor of the house for 

 him Na, and let him play with everything T16, even with costly skins Tl 5. [He 

 played with the bundles of light as a baby, Tit 118. When the child was old enough 

 to walk, he dragged about the things in the house, and took them from under his 

 mother's pillow, Ten'a 305.] 



One day the boy began to cry. He did not accept anything that was offered to 

 him, but pointed at the bundles Tla [boxes Tl 4; box Tl 5]. Finally the grandfather 

 feared that he might be sick, because he would not stop crying. [He took down the 

 box and let him look into it Tl 5. He took down the first box Tl 4. The boy pointed 

 earnestly toward the shining thing. They thought he might want it, and put it near 

 him, then he stopped crying, Anvik 10.] The grandfather ordered his men to give him 

 the bundle that hung at the end, which contained the stars. Then the child became 

 quiet and played with it, rolling it about back of the people. Suddenly he let it 

 go through the smoke hole, and the stars arranged themselves in the sky Tla. 

 [He took it out of the door and opened it, and all of a sudden it was empty Tl 4; 

 he rolled it about, became a bird, and flew away with it Chil] After this he 

 cried for the second box, which contained the moon [big moon Tla], and the 

 same happened [in T16 the moon is first mentioned]. Then he cried for the last 

 one until his eyes turned around, showing different colors, so that the people 

 thought he must be something other than an ordinary baby Tla. [After much 

 crying, he got the last box, which contained the sun. He ran out with it in the form 

 of a raven or in the form of a man Tl 4. He cried "Gat" and flew out with it Tla, 

 put it under his wing Tl 5.] After getting everything else, he cried for the daylight. 

 His grandfather said, "Bring my child here," and spoke to him. "My grandchild, I 

 am giving you the last thing I have in the world " T16. [As the boy grew older, he 

 was not allowed to play with the bundles. He cried incessantly, until they were 

 given back to him. Then he released the light from the bundles and threw it into 

 the air, to take its place in the firmament Tit 118. — Once he took the sun from the 

 southeast corner of the house to the middle of the floor, moved it about, and rolled it. 

 into the entrance passage. When the mother put it back, one of his uncles said, "I 



