6G8 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [ETH. am. 31 



taining the bodies of twins. He sprinkles the remains with water of life, marries 

 the woman, and asks her to create the salmon. He requests his brothers to make a 

 salmon weir. While her husband is away, the woman asks Deer to fetch water. She 

 puts her little finger into it, and a spring salmon is in the bucket, which they roast 

 and eat. On his return he notices that his brothers look well content. He asks his 

 wife again to create salmon. When Deer laughs, he notices a piece of salmon meat 

 in his teeth. He sends for a bucket of water, and his wife puts two fingers into it. 

 At once there are two salmon in the bucket. He asks her to step into the river, and 

 salmon begin to jump, and the salmon traps are full K 10. 



All these versions continue with the story of the offended Salmon 

 Woman (see No. 14, p. 568). 



(14) txa'msem and the salmon woman (p. 76) 



(19 versions: Ts 76; N6 32; [Tla 14]; T16 108; Tl 6.31; M6 303; Mc 330; Ska 126; 

 BC 94; BC 5.246; Ri 5.209; Ri MS; Ne 5.174; K 5.159; K 9.491; K 10.329; Chil 18; 

 Sha 637; Sh6 743) 



Raven goes out spearing. It is foggy. When the fog clears away, a beautiful woman 

 is sitting in the bow of his canoe. He wishes to marry her, and she tells him that she 

 is Bright-Cloud Woman, the Salmon. They go home Ts. 



Raven marries the daughter of Fog Over The Salmon T16. Raven makes a woman 

 called Suwa's his sister M6 [he lives with his sister Sawa's Mc; Siwa's Ska]. He 

 sees something in the water, and a salmon comes into his ca.ioe. This salmon is 

 Salmon Woman [he marries Cloud Woman Ska]. He takes her to hi3 sister, who gives 

 them clams to eat. Salmon Woman's child cries for hunger Mc. 



Raven catches a spring salmon (sdml), which is transformed into a woman. She 

 promises to marry him if he will never look at another woman BC 5. 



Mink asks the Salmon to marry him K 5. 



Different from the preceding is another Bellacoola version, in 

 which it is told that Raven goes with his sister to the Salmon country 

 in his canoe Tupa'nkx. 



Before they land, his sisters make holes in the Salmon peoples' canoe by pulling 

 out the knots. After he has been made welcome, he asks the chief's daughter to help 

 carry food into the canoe; and when she steps into the water, he takes her aboard. 

 The sisters strike the sides of the canoe, and it goes off BC 94. This passage is parallel 

 to visits to the country across the ocean, that occur frequently in tales of the middle 

 part of British Columbia. 



A special form of introduction is the tale of Kaven's marriage to 

 the dead twin, that has just been discussed (No. 13, p. 667). 



After Raven has obtained the Salmon Woman, he proceeds to 

 request her to make the salmon. In two versions the woman declines 

 to do so, but, when her husband is away, produces salmon and gives 

 them to the rest of the people. For the sake of completeness, I give 

 here all the versions of this incident, although some of them have 

 been discussed before. 



The woman makes salmon, and tells her sister-in-law to hide all the bones. Raven 

 goes to work on his canoe without knowing that there are any salmon. The Salmon 

 Woman warns her sister-in-law not to leave any fragments between her child's teeth. 



