boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAjST MYTHOLOGY b»9 



A whale has drifted ashore. Raven flies over it, turn? over, and says in the Raven 

 language " Tuldge gugdzr cl ban." The people do not know what it means. On the 

 following day he sits' with the gamblers, who talk about what has happened; and he 

 says, "I understand it. It means that pestilence is coming " Ts 71. 



In this way he induces the people to leave, and gets possession of 

 the whale, which he eats. 



Only a few versions differ in details. In Tl 5 he leaves with the other people, 

 joining a number of poor people in an old canoe. When out at sea, he pulls out the 

 calking, the canoe -inks, the people are drowned, and he flies back and takes pos- 

 session of the whale Tl 5. In the version Sk<? the people run away when the Raven 

 flies against the chest of the young man who cuts open the whale. He meets them, 

 asks them why they an- running, and advises them to leave the camp, leaving every- 

 thing behind. Then he eats their provisions. 



Raven's method of scaring away the people is quite similar to the 

 one employed in the tale of the fishermen who tear off his beak 

 (p. 684). The same idea occurs also in the Haida tale Ska 125, tell- 

 ing how the Crows made a feast of cakes of the inner bark of hem- 

 lock mixed with cranberries. Raven is invited, but refuses to come. 

 Then he runs away, transforms rotten logs into ten canoes, puts in 

 spruce cones, which look like men, and makes the people believe that 

 they are going to be attacked. 



A similar incident is introduced in the Bungling Host story among 

 the Bellacoola. 



Raven is invited by the bird M6 / xmuk"t. When the food is served, Raven cries, 

 "War, war! " runs back to his fireplace, and covers himself with ashes and frightens 

 the people away BC 91. 



Squirrel invites the people, and Raven asks his excrements to shout. The people 

 are frightened, run out of the house, and Raven eats the berries with which they 

 were to be feasted. An old woman sees what he is doing, and tells on him H 5. 



The bird Wosne'p invites the people to a feast of salmon roe. Raven is not in- 

 vited. He frightens the people away and eats their provisions Nu 5.106. 



(29) TXi'MSEM AND HIS SLAVE * (p. 72) 



This story consists of four distinct parts — the incident of Raven 

 making for himself a slave, who does not repeat properly what he 

 is told to say; the tale of a visit to a chief's house, during which 

 Raven's slave says that Raven does not want to eat the food offered 

 to him; the tale of Raven pretending to die; and the tale of the death 

 of Raven's slave while crossing a chasm. 



(a) Raven Creates a Slave, who Disobeys Mm. 



(11 versions: Ts 72, 73; Ts 5.276; N6 39; Tl 5.314; Ma 314, 328; Mc 329; Skrf 131; 



K 5.159; K 9.159; K 11.131. See also U 234) 



Raven makes a slave of cedar bark and puts ornaments made of cockle-shells in his 



ear. The slave is told to say that he is the chief with abalone-shell ear-ornaments, 



but the slave always repeats that he wears cockle-shells Ts 5. 



Raven transforms rotten spruce wood into a slave, whom he calls Lgam [this is the 

 Masset word for "butterfly"]. He makes ear-ornaments of clamshells, and asks his 

 i Including the story, Txi'msEni Kills His Slave (p. 73). 

 50633°— 31 eth— 16 44 



