716 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ann. 31 



The version Ri 5.211 is almost identical with the preceding one, 

 except that the youngest son is The One Who Catches One Whale; 

 the oldest, The One Who Catches Four Whales. 



The last named is told to catch the whale by the head. The old Thunderbird 

 helps him, but nevertheless both are drowned. The whale dives with such force 

 that it sticks in the mud of the bottom of the sea. Beaver and Sea Otter have to dig 

 it out Ri 5.211. In the version Ri MS every one of the Thunderbird's children 

 raises the whale a little higher. They are all told to take hold of it by the head. 

 Every time the whale dives, it has to be dug out again. In the version Ke 5.206 

 the animals attack the birds that try to lift the whale. The Mouse gnaws their talons, 

 Raccoon blinds them with his urine, Bear breaks their wings, and the Deer kills them. 

 In Ne 5.179 the Thunderbird, when taking hold of the whale, hurts Mink; and when 

 he cries, the Duck breaks the Thunderbird's wings with a stick, and the Black Bear 

 eats its feet. The youngest one of the Thunderbirds, who is in the cradle, is the 

 only one that is saved. In another Newettee version Mink sits in the spout-hole. 

 The Thunderbirds put on their bird masks and fly down. They grasp Mink, who 

 cries. Then the animals strike the Thunderbird. The Wasp stings his eye, and 

 Grizzly Bear and Wolf kill him. When the next one tries to lift the whale, the 

 Grizzly Bear, Wolves, and the Black Bear strike him, and his face is covered by the 

 Squid. At the end of this story it would appear that /£ meal's folding-canoe had 

 assumed the form of the whale, but this point is not brought out quite clearly Xe 9.241. 

 The version K 9.493 is identical with K 10. 



The wings of the Thunderbirds stick to the pitch. Mink cuts their talons. The 

 whale dives, and they are drowned. When all their children are drowned, Thunder- 

 bird and his wife dress. Before flying out, he puts his wrist-bands and anklets on 

 the youngest child, which is still in the cradle, and says Xh-dt future generations of 

 men shall do the same to their children when then <"'< '' " months obi. lie also ordains 

 that there shall be thunderstorms only in spring and in autumn. Thunderbird and his 

 wife are drowned. On account of this story, children's vrrist-bands and foot-bands are 

 used, tlte hoop game is played, the Ma'maleleqala use the whale mask, and bones and 

 refuse of salmon are thrown into the water. 



When the Whale arrives, the young Thunderbirds put on their feather dresses 

 and try to catch it. The first one grasps it, and his talons pierce the skin. The 

 animals tie them inside and cut them. The Thunderbird gets weak on account of 

 loss of blood. Kwo'tiath beats the ballast, saying. ' ' Get heavy! " Thus the Thunder- 

 birds are drowned. The bird that is first caught has time to warn his brothers, never- 

 theless they are killed. Only one Thunderbird survives. Kwo'tiath transforms the 

 canoe and the animals in it into stone Nu 5. 



This tale is also briefly referred to by Sproat. He simply states that Kwo'tiath 

 enters a whale and drags the Thunderbirds under water. The last one escapes. 



The Thunderbird tries to lift the whale. The stone rolls back into the tail. Mink 

 cuts the feet of the Thunderbird with the chisel. All the Thunderbirds are killed 

 excepting the youngest one, who is still in the cradle. His father tells him to cause 

 thunder only in summer and to stay at home in the winter Co 5.83. 



(44) TXA'MSEM AND CHIEF GROUSE (p. 94) 



(9 versions: Ts 94; BCa 5.245; BC6 45; Nu 5.105; Cow 5.46; Chil 33; Nez Perce > 23; 

 Ojibwa 2 49, 215) 

 Txa'msEm finds a house inhabited by a woman and two children. He trans- 

 forms three crows, making one appear as his wife; the other two, as his children. 



i Herbert J. Spinden, Myths of the Nez Perce Indians (Journal of Am/rican Folk-Lore, vol. xxi. p. 23). 

 2 William Jones, Ojibwa Texts,edited by Truman Michelson (Tubl. A m. Ethnol. Soc., vol. vn, part 1). 



