boas] COMPAEATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 687 



A similar incident of Porpoise being able to hear what Raven says 

 and interpreting it occurs in the tales Nos. 166 and 167, p. 577 

 (Kai 8.234, Na 70). 



(27, 28) TXA'MSEM FRIGHTENS AWAY THE OWNERS OF A WHALE (p. 7l) 



(a) Whale Swallows Raven 

 (13 versions: Tlo 12; T16 91; Tl 5.315; M6 294; Skdl31; Ska 145; Hai Dawson 1.152 B; 

 Ne 5.171; Nu 5.101; Coa 5.74; Co6 5.75; Cow 5.51; Esk Nelson 464. See also 

 U 282; pp. 611, 659, 718, 868) 



The story as told in the present collection forms the second part of 

 the story of the whale swallowing Raven. The first part has not 

 been recorded among the Tsimshian. 



Raven sees a whale blowing and coming up with open mouth Tla. He sees a whale 

 way out at sea T16. He calls to a whale, " Hahai'ya, Whale, swallow me! " Mb. He 

 wishes a whale to swallow him Ska", Skg. Then he is swallowed by the "whale Tl 5, M6 

 [he flies into the whale's mouth T16]. Dawson mentions the same story without 

 details. He asks the whale to swallow him Esk. 



Raven and Mink meet the Whale. Raven asks Whale to ferry them across the sea. 

 Then they go into his stomach through the open mouth Ne 5. 



The Whale has devoured Kwo'tiath's mother. He and his brothers acquire the 

 ability to withstand the heat of boiling water. They tie together two canoes and 

 induce the Whale to swallow them Nu 5. 



Mink is catching herring with a rake. A Whale is scaring away the herrings, and 

 Mink scolds him, saying that he lias a bad smell. Then Whale swallows Mink and 

 his canoe Co6 5. 



A mixed story, telling how Mink killed a monster obstructing Fraser River by 

 eating salmon inside and finally cutting the monster's heart, is told by the Thomp- 

 son Indians TJ 282. 



The next part of the story tells how Raven lives in the stomach of 

 the Whale. 



Before going in, he takes a knife and fire-making apparatus. When he Hies in, he 

 sits down at the farther end of the stomach Tl«. 



Raven sees the uvula of the Whale, which looks like an old woman and makes a 

 noise whenever the Whale rises. When it. moves aside, food pours in. The Raven 

 cooks the food and eats it Tla. 



He takes along pitch wood and rocks used for making fire T16, and starts a fire 

 inside T16, Tl 5. Mink makes a fire in the Whale's stomach and dries the herrings 

 that Whale is eating Coa 5. He cooks the food that Whale eats T16. 



The Whale's inua feeds him. A lamp is kept burning by oil dripping into it from 

 a tube Esk. 



Finally Raven cuts the Whale's heart Tla, Tib. The Whale asks him not to cut 

 his heart. Raven pecks at it, and the Whale feels the pain. After Raven has done 

 so several times, the Whale dies M6. Raven eats up its insides and kills it Ska", Nu. 

 He tears the tube from which oil drips Esk. 



When they are in Whale's stomach, Raven pinches Mink so that he cries. The 

 Whale asks why Mink is crying, and Raven replies that he is hungry. The Whale 

 allows them to cut off some of his flesh, but warns them not to cut his heart. Imme- 

 diately after this Raven cuts the Whale's throat Ne 5. 



Whenever the Whale comes up, Mink shouts, "A whale swallowed me!" therefore 

 the people learn about it. Whenever the Whale moves, the herrings that Mink is 

 drying in the Whale's stomach drop down. Besides this, the stomach is hot. There- 

 fore Mink cuts the Whale's throat Co6 5. 



Raven is thus imprisoned in the whale, and wishes it to drift 

 ashore. This happens. The people find the whale, cut it open, and 

 he flies away. 



