722 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ANN. 31 



(212) txa'msem FINDS A BEAUTIFUL BLANKET (p. 72) 



(3 versions: Ts 72; Na 70; N6 38) 

 This incident is apparently confined to the Tsimshian and Nass. 



Txa'msEm steals a chief's dancing-blanket and throws away his raven blanket. 

 After a while he tears the dancing-blanket and has to search for his raven blanket. 

 When traveling about, he sees in the woods what he believes to be a dancing-blanket. 

 He tears up his raven blanket and puts on the dancing-blanket. Soon, however, 

 he finds that he has mistaken lichens for a blanket. He mends his raven blanket 

 and goes on. He sees what he believes to be a marten blanket, but he finds that 

 he has mistaken moss for a blanket. He mends his raven blanket and puts it on Ts. 



He kills many ravens and makes a blanket of their skins. He sees hanging in front 

 of him what he believes to be a dancing-blanket, tears up his raven blanket, but 

 after a while he sees that what he believed was a dancing-blanket are withered leaves. 

 He mends his raven blanket and goes on Na. 



He wears his grandfather's dancing-blanket. After a while he tears it. Then he 

 kills ravens and makes a blanket of their skins. While walking about he sees what 

 he believes is a dancing-blanket. He tears up his raven blanket, but discovers that 

 he has mistaken lichens for a blanket. Then he mends his raven blanket N6. 



(216) txa'msem makes a girl sick and cures her (p. 81) 



(10 versions: Ts 81; Sts 5.25; Till 141; Wish 11; Sh 741; Ntl Teit2.28; Ntl Teit 3.298; 

 Ntl Teit 3.361; Ntl Hill-Tout 2.561; K 11.135) 



Evidently this incident is very much toned down. It seems to 

 belong to a characteristic series of very coarse stories of the Raven 

 and Coyote cycles. 



Txa'msEni wishes to get possession of a princess. 'When she goes out in a canoe 

 with her friends to pick berries, he assumes the form of a stag, which swims in front 

 of the canoe. They kill it and place it in front of the princess. The stag is not dead, 

 and kicks the princess in the stomach, so that she becomes ill. Ts. — Parallel to this 

 introduction is the Kwakiutl story of the deer that tries to get possession of Sawbill- 

 Duck Woman. When the girls go out in a canoe clam-digging, he puts on his deer 

 mask, swims in front of the canoe, is captured, and then carries away the girl's privates 

 K 11.135. 



The Tsimshian version continues telling of the efforts of the shamans to cure the 

 girl. On the fourth day Txa'msEm arrives in the guise of a shaman, accompanied 

 by his grandchildren the Crows, who are his crew. He sings his song calling for 

 hail, and the Crows drop pebbles on the roof of the house, thus making the people 

 believe that he has conjured up the hail. He covers the princess with a mat, crawls 

 under the mat, touches her, and thus cures her. Ts. — As'ai'yahaL wishes to get 

 possession of a girl. He waits for her to get sick, pretends that he is a shaman, and 

 when called sends everybody away except two blind women. He orders the old 

 women to cover the girl and himself with elk skins, and has intercourse with her. 

 The women try to restrain him, but he runs away with the elk skins Till. — Coyote 

 attacks a woman who is swimming in the water. She becomes sick. Raven is unable 

 to cure her, and a number of girls are sent to call Coyote, whom they carry on their 

 backs. He asks that a curtain be put up around the patient, and has intercourse 

 with her Wish. 1 — In Sts 5.25 the same story is told of Mink. The versions Sh and 

 Ntl are very much like the last one. In Ntl Teit 3.361 the same tale is told of 

 Muskrat. 



In Ts Txa'msEm asks as his pay that the people move away and leave all their 

 provisions behind. While he takes a walk, his grandchildren eat up everything. 



' See the original for details. 



