boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 647 



The G-a'p!enox version is the following: Khvexala'lagilis goes with Tsla'qaxsto- 

 gwi £ lak u to the Koskimo village Xude's, where Day-Receptacle Woman ( £ ne £ nalaa'ts!e- 

 gas) keeps the sun. They go ashore. He goes inland and meets Squirrel, who advises 

 him. He sends his friend back, enters the body of the girl, who feels squeamish, and 

 after four days gives birth to a child, which walks the first day, speaks on the second 

 day. After four days he asks for the box and for paddles, and, when he receives them, 

 carries away the daylight. The girl's father rebukes her. When he opens the box, 

 the sun goes up to the sky, and gives him a mask and other dancing-paraphernalia 

 that were in the box. This is the origin of daylight and of a dance Ne 10. 



The following Loucheux tale from Fort McPherson undoubtedly 

 belongs to our series: 



Grizzly Bear takes the sun from the sky and hides it in his medicine-pouch. Raven 

 is sent to recover it. He hides near Grizzly Bear's tent. The grandchild of the latter 

 cries until he gets permission to play with the sun, but is forbidden to take it outside. 

 Finally the sun flies out, is caught by Raven, and put back in the sky. 1 



Certain new elements enter into the following tales : — 



The Gull keeps daylight in a box. Raven wishes to have it, and wishes a thorn to 

 enter Gull's foot. 'When he tries to pull it out, he pretends not to be able to see. 

 He asks Gull to open the box. ^"hen he opens it a little, he pushes in the thorn; 

 and only when it is wide open -does he pull it out. Thus daylight originates Na5. 



In the Lillooet version Raven places hawthorn branches on the trail that led 

 to Gull's canoe landing-place. Then he shouts that the canoe is adrift. Gull rushes 

 down, and the thorns enter his feet. The story continues as before, except that Raven 

 pushes the receptacle over and breaks it Lil 300. 



To this group belongs also the Squamish version Hill-Tout 3.545. Sea Gull pos- 

 sesses the daylight and keeps it shut up in a box. Raven, the brother of Gull, gets 

 some sea eggs, eats them, and puts the shells in a dish. Then he spreads the shells 

 on the doorstep of Gull, who steps on them and runs the spines into his feet. Raven 

 offers to take them out, and asks Gull to let him have light in order to enable him to 

 do so. Gull opens the box a little, and Raven pushes in the spines. Finally he 

 throws the lid of the box wide open, and daylight comes out. In his distress the Gull 

 cries " K'nnii!" and for this reason they continue to cry that way. 



A certain kind of duck (Queenia) has the heavenly bodies in three boxes. He 

 always keeps the. boxes in his canoe when out fishing, so as to have light and to pro- 

 tect them. Raven drowns him, goes ashore, and opens the boxes and liberates the 

 heavenly bodies Cow 6. 



I collected another story from the Lower Chehalis which is related 

 to this one, but which in details resembles the Bluejay tales of the 

 Quinault, Chehalis, and Chinook. 



The chief keeps the sun in a box. His daughter takes it out when she goes berry- 

 ing, and opens it a little in order to see. The people hold a council in order to get 

 the sun, and send Chief Kalixo, who takes the form of an old slave. Bluejay claims 

 that he is his own slave, but his brother Robin does not recognize him. They take 

 him paddling, and Bluejay claims that he used to paddle for him, which Robin 

 denies. When the girl opens the box, he takes it away and runs home and opens it, 

 then it gets daylight, Chehalis. 



Quite independent is a Nootka tale telling that Woodpecker's daughter marries 

 the Sky chief. Their children are let down and bring the daylight box Nu ap 913. 



W. S. Phillips, in his book "Totem Tales" (Chicago, 1896), page 

 212, gives a version which evidently belongs somewhere on Puget 



