boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 725 



water with his tail and dives, when the water splashes into the face of Porcupine, who 

 gasps]. He puts Porcupine on an island in the middle of the lake and returns Ts 1 , 

 Tla [on the stump of a tree in the middle of a lake Ts 5, T16]. Porcupine is almost 

 dead. When the sun strikes him, he revives Ts 1. He prays to Nass and Skeena 

 Rivers for cold Ts 5. He cries and sings, "The sky is burning, and burning arc 

 my children!'' Then lightning comes from the north, the north wind blows, and 

 the lake freezes over Ts 1. He wanders about on the island, climbs one tree after 

 another, then calls for Wolverene and other animals, because he wants the north 

 wind to blow. Wolverene hears him; and Porcupine sings about himself, saying 

 that he wants to go home Tla. He sings, "Let it freeze, so that I can cross over 

 Wolverene's place ! " T16. The lake freezes, and he goes home Ts 5, Tla, T16 [instead 

 of the prayer and the appearance of cold, Beaver takes him back N]. 



The story Tla continues here in a different manner. He makes friends with Ground 

 Hog; he makes a song about the Ground Hog; then a man who catches the Ground 

 Hog and cooks his meat is killed by a bear trap. 



The Sltidegate version brings in the whole incident in a quite different manner- 

 Beaver has plenty of food, which Porcupine steals. He waits for Beaver's return, 

 and says, "How can the food of supernatural people be taken?" When Beaver sees 

 that Porcupine has stolen the food, they fight. When Beaver is about to seize him 

 with his teeth, Porcupine strikes him with his spines. Beaver goes home; his father 

 calls liis people. They push down their house over Porcupine and carry him to an 

 island. In vain he calls his clan-fellows and his father. Something tells him to call 

 North Wind. He sings the North Wind song, and a strong north wind blows. Then 

 he sings for smooth water, and the water freezes. His friends come and get him Sk 44. 



In the following I give a summary of the trick played by Porcu- 

 pine on Beaver, which sometimes precedes, sometimes follows, the 

 incident discussed before. 



Beaver swims about, striking the water with his tail. Porcupine calls him Ts 1. 

 After Porcupine has been tricked by Beaver, the former calls his tribe, who ask him 

 to invite Beaver and to retaliate. Beaver goes to Porcupine's valley, and in the house 

 Porcupine strikes the fire with his tail. The tail bums, and Beaver sings, "Little 

 Porcupine's tail burns in the middle! " Porcupine runs about in front of the Beaver 

 and gives him bark of trees and spruce needles to eat. Beaver is afraid to eat. Then 

 Porcupine invites him to play with him, and sings, "When I walk along the edge, my 

 shooting-star drops out! " This song brings cold weather and a clear sky N. 



This introduction of frost and ice here and in the following part of 

 the tale would seem to be misplaced. In all the other tales where 

 the song occurs, Porcupine asks for the ice in order to be enabled to 

 escape from the island, whde here there does not seem to be any 

 particular reason for its introduction. 



This incident corresponds to the invitation of Porcupine by Beaver, and precedes 

 the actual trick. Porcupine takes Beaver to his playground, a spruce tree Ts 1 [a 

 tree on a grassy slope N]. Water runs across the ground on the way to the tree. It is 

 frozen. Beaver can not cross it, but Porcupine leads him across N. [In Tla the 

 second incident is introduced by the remark that Porcupine is hungry and wants to 

 go home to get bark and sap; in T16 it is introduced again by saying that the two go 

 playing again.] Porcupine invites Beaver to climb thetreeTs l,Ts 5 [saying it is better 

 than playing in water Ts l]. Beaver says he can not climb Ts 5. Porcupine shows 

 Mm how to do it Ts 1, Ts 5, N, Tla. Then he throws himself down along the tips of the 

 branches, shouting, "Vessel of moss! " Ts 1, N [he jumps down Ts 5, slides down Tla]. 

 [The Beaver stays below, but the Bear comes along, and he asks him what to do Tla.] 

 Porcupine tells Beaver to do the same Ts 5. Beaver can not do so, and Porcupine 



