boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 683 



An analogous incident is the killing of the Wolf by means of hot 

 food Sh 752; and the attempt to kill the Transformer by means of a 

 red-hot stone, Kutenai 87. 



In the Skidegate Raven tale an iccident analogous to the killing of Grizzly Bear 

 is inserted in the story of Raven offering his sister in marriage. He calls the animals 

 ami looks at their backsides. When they are lean, he refuses them. He accepts Sea 

 Lion. Raven's sister and Sea Lion have two children. One day Raven and Sea Lion 

 go out fishing, and Raven wishes for all the halibut to come to him only. Sea Lion 

 asks him how he secures good luck, and Raven replies that he uses parts of his body 

 fur bait. Raven then cuts Sea Lion, kills him, and eats the fat. He goes home 

 wailing for his sister's husband Sk/. 



(23) TXA'MSEM KILLS LITTLE PITCH (p. 86) 



(9 versions: Ts SO; N6 58; Tl 4.265; Mc 337; Ri MS; Xe 5.179; Ne 9.215; K 11.180; 



( o ■».<■ i 



After his ankle has been broken in the house of the Shadows, he comes to the house 

 of Little Pitch and his wife. The woman puts pitch on his sore ankle Ts [he reaches 

 the house of Pitch and his wife N6; the Pitch people town Mc]. He asks Pitch to go 

 fishing with him, and Pitch says that he can go fishing only before sunrise (all versions) 

 [his wife always calls him before day Co 5]. 



In some of the versions Pitch shows some reluctance to accompany 

 Raven. 



In Xe 5 he says that he has no hook, then no line, no club, no blanket, but Raven 

 lends him his own. In Co 5 Pitch is a blind person who goes fishing red cod every 

 night. In K 11 the fishing-bank which they visit is named DzE'inbaxL In Tl 4 

 the story is introduced by stating that Pitch has much halibut, and Raven asks 

 him to show him his fishing-ground. In Mc we learn of a whole town of Pitch people, 

 and Raven goes fishing with one of them in the dark. 



Riven kills no halibut; and when Pitch desires to return when the sun rises, he 

 tells him to lie down in the bow of the canoe and cover himself with a mat Ts, Mc 

 [Pitch lies down in the bow of the canoe and is covered with a mat N6, K 11], Then 

 Raven calls him from time to time, and Pitch's voice gets weaker and weaker Ts. N6, 

 Ne 5, Ne 9, K 11 [Pitch coughs when he gets warm, and is told to cover himself with 

 a mal Mr], When his voice is very weak. Raven hauls up the line and pretends to 

 paddle, but puts his paddles into the water edgewise N6 (probably also Ts). The 

 pitch melts and runs over the halibut, therefore these are black on one side Ts. N6 [Tl 4 

 states that after Pitch's death Raven stole his provisions]. 



In three versions the murder of Pitch is connected with the story 

 of the war against the Thunderbirds. Raven takes home the pitch 

 that is gathered in the canoe in order to calk the artificial whale that 

 the animals have made. 



Raven wants Pitch to accompany him to make war on the Thunderbird. Pitch's 

 mother, however, does not want to let him go, for fear that he might melt. Next 

 Raven asks Frost to go along. His mother does not want to let him go, but he prom- 

 ises to cover him. They go out together, but both Gum and Frost melt in the sun. 

 Raven calls them, and their voices become weaker and weaker Ri MS. 



In Ne 5 Pitch is in his own canoe, which Raven takes ashore. In 



K 11 Great Inventor takes home the pitch that he has thus obtained. 



In the Tsimshian version as soon as Pitch dies, his house becomes 



changed into a green spruce tree with a drop of pitch. The canoe 



