688 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [BTH. ANN. 31 



Raven wishes the "hale to float ashore on a sandy beach. It does so Tla, T16, Tl 5. 

 He wishes it to drift ashore in front of a town Skd. After the whale has been killed, 

 it strands. Then Raven wishes a noble person to cut the whale T16, Skg [young 

 people hear a voice saying, "I wonder who will make a hole on top, so that he can 

 be my friend!" Tla]. Young people who find the whale report at home Tla, T16 

 [children playing on the beach with bow and arrow find the whale and report Tl 5]. 

 The people come and hear the Raven's words, cut a hole into the whale from the top 

 Tla [he wishes somebody to cut down from the top Tl 5]. Then the people cut down 

 to the stomach, and Raven flies away T16, Ska", Skgr. He flies away, crying "Xone'-el" 

 Tla [crying "Kola.'!" Tl 5; crying "Q!one"' Tlfc]. [Raven makes a hole right over 

 the heart, and comes out and eats the whale M6.] The people cut the whale, and 

 find the spot where Raven had made a fire inside Tla. Raven flies against the chest 

 of the young man who cut the whale, and the people run away Sk<7. The whale 

 lands, is cut up, and Raven flies away unobserved Esk. 



Mink and Raven can not get out. When the whale strands, the people cut it up, 

 and notice that meat has been cut off. Raven and Mink make their escape, and the 

 people try out the blubber Ne 5. 



The whale drifts ashore, the people cut it, and Mink, who has lost all his hair, 

 jumps out Co6. One of Kwotiath's brothers has lost Ms hair Nu. 



Another Comox version and a Cowichan version diverge so much 

 from the ordinary type, that I shall give an abstract here connectedly. 



Mink obtains bait by cutting off part of his grandmother's vulva (see No. 18, p. 5S5; 

 p. 868). He calls the whale to take his hook. When he calls the fourth time, the 

 whale bites. It pulls down Mink's canoe and swallows it Coa 5. 



Two boys are out in a canoe. They call the whale names. When they do so the 

 fourth time, the whale swallows them. It allows them to eat of its flesh, but tells 

 them not to cut its stomach. The younger boy lifts the older one, who cuts the 

 stomach with his stone knife. They wish the whale to drift ashore. The boys hear 

 somebody working on a canoe, and shout. The people hear them, go to the beach, 

 and hear the boys singing, "We are in the whale, we are almost scalded!" Their 

 father recognizes their voices. The people cut the whale, and the boys come out. 

 They have lost their hair Cow 5. 



(b) Raven Steals the Whale 



(8 versions: Ts 71; Tla 13; T16 91; Tl 5.316; Skrf 131; Sky 145; Ne 5.172; Esk 



Nelson 465. See also Ska 125; BC 91; H 5.233; Nu 5.106) 



Here follows the story of Raven stealing the whale that has been 

 carved by the people. 



Raven cleans his body with rotten wood Tla [with moss, and puts lichens on his 

 head and face so that it looks as though he had gray hair Tl 5; he cleans himself T16]. 

 When the people have tried out the oil, he dresses up and goes to the town Tla. He 

 enters the village in the form of an old man Tl 5, Skjr [of a one-eyed old woman Ne 5]. 

 He pulls off the skin of an old man ' who lives at the end of the town, throws away the 

 bones, and enters the skin Skd. When he sees much whale grease, he inquires how 

 they caught it; and when the people tell him, he says that it indicates bad luck 

 T16, Skrf. He asks, "Was anything heard in the tddn'!" (his word for "whale"). 

 Then he says, "This is an evil omen" Tla. He tells his excrements to shout; and 

 when they cry, he says, "Enemies are coming! " Tl 5, Ne 5. He forgets his fire-drill 

 in the whale. When the people find it, he tells them that it is an evil omen Esk. 



The Tsimshian version, which is not connected with the tale of 

 Raven swallowed by the whale, is introduced somewhat differently. 



i See No. 66, p. 606; p. 870; Skin Shifter. 



