666 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [bth. ann. 31 



(11) txa'msem AND lagobola' (p. 68) 



(6 versions: Ts68; N6 1G; Tin 10; Tl 4.260; Kai 8.235; Co 5.77 [cited respectively Ts, 

 N6, Tlo, Tl 4, Kai 8, Co 5]) 

 Raven travels with Oyster Catcher (Kai 8) and goes to visit Chief Eagle, called here 

 GAno'g Kai 8. [He meets Petrel (GAno'g) Tla, Tl 4; he meets Lagobola' Ts, N; the 

 Raven P'a goes shooting birds with his three sons, and the Gull Ha'iom is shooting 

 birds at the same time; the Gull kills many, Raven none Co 5.] Raven lands just 

 below GAno'g's house Kai 8. He asks him, "How long have you lived?" Tl 4, Kai 8 

 ["Where are you from?" Tlo]. The other replies, "Since the livers of the sea began 

 to float" Tl 4, Kai 8 (that is, since the first death by drowning in the 'sea Kai 8). 



Mr. Louis Shotridge informs me that the Tlingit phrase in question is " tcul hayl- 

 lluqk!" dak cul hac-dji kat qiixdzltl;" 'i.e., "our under milky water's edge was yet 

 to drift out, when I existed." He interprets this as meaning that Raven claimed to 

 have existed before the first run of olachen, and that he refers to the fact that during 

 the olachen run the water generally turns milky. He states that another version has 

 " L!ux!k! u " instead of "l!uqk! a ." This would mean "our post under (us) was yet to 

 decay when I existed," referring to the post supposed to support the world. 



Raven replies that he existed before the world was made (Tl 4, Kai 8), and that 

 therefore he is older Kai 8. [Ravensays, "My family is older than yours" Co 5. Inthe 

 Tsimshian and Nass versions there is no quarrel of this kind; it is merely stated that 

 they go in opposite directions around an island or that they are out hunting together.] 

 Then GAno'g [Lagobola' Ts, N] takes off his hat and pushes Raven's canoe off. A 

 fog arises Tla, Tl 4, Kai 8 [Gull shakes his mountain-goat blanket and a fog arises 

 Co 5], then Raven calls him brother-in-law Tla. He says, "You are older than I am" 

 Kai 8 [he says, "You are more powerful than I am" Tl 4; he says, "Your family is 

 older than mine " Co 5; he begs him to gather in the fog Ts, N]. Then the other puts 

 on the hat again, and the fog disappears Ts, Tla, Tl 4, Kai 8 [he gathers the fog in the 

 hat N]. 



The Comox version adds at the end that he meets his eldest son 

 after the fog had disappeared, but he docs not recognize him. This 

 incident seems to be related to the end of the Sqeyo'l incident (see 

 p. 708). 



The version Tla ends with the following form. Raven asks Petrel 

 to let the hat go into the world. Therefore it is known that when sea- 

 fog comes out of an open space in the woods and goes hack, the weather 

 will he good. 



The discussion between Raven and his rival regarding the nobility 

 of their families recurs in Raven's quarrel with Deer (see p. 704). 



(12) RAVEN CARVES SALMON OUT OF VARIOUS KINDS OF WOOD 



(4 versions: BC 5.242; Ri 5.209; Ri MS; Ne 5.174) 

 Among the tribes of central British Columbia one of the incidents 

 of the origin of the salmon tells about the fish being carved out of 

 wood. Generally the attempt is unsuccessful, and the real salmon 

 is later on obtained by an expedition to the country of the Salmon. 

 In Rivers Inlet it is told that K!wek!waxa'we £ went to No'xunts. He requests the 

 Grouse to carve salmon of cedar wood. He complies; but the skin and the bones of 

 the fish are tough, because they are made of wood Ri 5. 



i The grave accent (') indicates low tone; the acute accent ('), high tone. 



