boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 711 



hook, which he lets down into the hole into which they used to vomit sea water. It 

 is not stated that he uses a flicker feather on the hook. He pulls out the halibut- 

 which is cooked and eaten. On the following day he takes Master Fisherman to 

 the flicker island. Raven goes ashore, breaks off cedar limbs, which he pushes into 

 his nose, so that they become bloody. They are transformed into flickers. Then he 

 tells Master Fisherman to go ashore. (Here another informant continues.) Raven 

 lies down in the canoe and drifts away with the wind. He pays no attention to Master 

 Fisherman's calling. He makes himself appear like the latter, lands in front of the 

 village, and tells the woman that there were no flickers on the island. He tells her 

 that he has become different, and that he is very hungry. He fishes as Master Fisher- 

 man had done, and eats the halibut. The woman then goes after water, and finds 

 her real husband sitting by the creek. He tells her that he had wished his hair-seal 

 club to carry him ashore, and orders her to close all the holes in the house. Then he 

 knocks Raven down and throws him out into the latrine. When Raven talks from 

 underneath, he pounds him again, puts him down on the beach, and rolls a rock 

 over him Ska, Skrt\ 



Still another Masset series, which was told to me hy the chief of 

 the StA'stas, is as follows: 



Master Fisherman is fishing for halibut. Raven visits him, and tells him that he 

 has seen many woodpeckers on an island. One day when it is calm they start with 

 Master Fisherman's wife. He goes ahead, takes some shoots of a plant, and strikes 

 his nose until it bleeds. Then he transforms the twigs into woodpeckers. Master 

 Fisherman, who is in the habit of tying the red feathers of woodpeckers to his hooks 

 in order to secure good luck, goes ashore. Raven pulls his blanket over his head, 

 pretends to sleep, wishes for a wind, and the canoe drifts away. He does not pay 

 attention to Master Fisherman's calling, transforms himself into the shape of the 

 latter, and says to Master Fisherman's wife ' that Raven has been lying. He is 

 always hungry now and eats a great deal. Master Fisherman calls for his rattle and 

 his bow, and with their help walks back over the sea. He meets his wife outside, 

 and tells her what has happened. He orders her to close up the chinks of the house. 

 Master Fisherman clubs Raven, breaks his bones, and throws them into the latrine, 

 On the following morning Raven insults Master Fisherman's wife by spittim- at her 

 from underneath. The man pounds him to pieces and throws him into the sea. 

 There he is found Sko. 



(43) WAR WITH THE THUNDERBIRD 



This story is widely spread on Vancouver Island, but does not 

 seem to occur in the northern area. Among the various branches of 

 the Kwakiutl it is worked into a coherent tale, together with incidents 

 41 and 23. Raven seduces a girl; and his son, who originates from a 

 secretion of her body, is carried away by the Thunderbird. After 

 three days he comes back; but since Raven does not recognize him, 

 he disappears for good (No. 41&, p. 708). Raven sets out to take 

 revenge. He plans to make an artificial whale of wood, which is to 

 be calked with pitch. In order to obtain pitch he induces the per- 

 sonified Pitch to go fishing with him, and Pitch melts in the warm sun 

 (No. 23, p. 683). Then Raven proceeds to budd the whale, and 

 incident 43 follows. 



1 There ti an inconsistency between the following and previous part of the tale. 



