boas] COMPAEATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 731 



and arrow for him. The child goes into the woods and goes to a creek of black ice-cold 

 water. He meets the spirit of strength, who orders him to bathe. He sits in the water 

 until it begins to shake. The spirit orders him to come out, and tells him to try to pull 

 up a tree. He does so easily. He tells him to strike a white rock, and the boy breaks 

 it. This is repeated four times with larger trees of tougher wood and with harder 

 stones. Then the spirit gives the boy his embroidered leggings, shirt, and moccasins. 

 Next follows the story of how the boy took revenge on the Wolves who had destroyed 

 the people. 



He goes inland, finds a shrew trying vainly to cross a log. He helps it cross, sees 

 it enter a bunch of ferns, which he pulls out, and finds a painted house. The Mouse 

 Woman gives him a present and tells him to go up to a lake and to shoot a mallard- 

 duck, to blow up its stomach, and put its grease into it. He does so, steams the 

 duck, and puts the grease into a clamshell. He puts a hot stone into the duck grease, 

 which boils over, and the animals tell him to be careful. This makes him ashamed. 

 lie does not eat the duck meat; and when the grease is done, he puts it into the entrails 

 of the duck. For this reason, " when the earth quakes, the Raven people ask him to be care- 

 ful of the duck grease" Sk 191. 



Here follows the story of the capture of the monster Wa'sgo in a 

 trap by means of the sinews of the wren (see p. 656) . This monster 

 had eaten his brothers, whom he recovers. * 



(b) Am'ala' Becomes the Supporter of the World 



(2 versions: Ts 121; Sk 191. See also Tl 5.319; Tl Swanton 4.452; Tl 4.268; Tla 20; 

 Hare Petitot 7.256) 



In the Tsimshian story the slave of the deserted youth shoots 

 wild ducks, whose oil is gathered in a root basket. 



Then all the animals and monsters, and finally a large mountain, appear to fight 

 with him. The mountain tells him that if the youth should overcome him, he would 

 live as long as the world stands. When they wrestle, the slave rubs the back of the 

 youth with duck oil, and thus strengthens him. He finally throws the mountain, 

 which becomes a sandbar Ts. 



One day he is called by two men to visit their sick chief. They cross the sea. He 

 is taken to the chief, who lies in the rear of the house. The pole supporting our 

 world stands on his chest. The youth is asked to take the chief's place because he 

 has double strength — that of the supernatural being and that of the mountain. The 

 slave stays with him and rubs his back with the duck oil in order to strengthen 

 himTs. 



This same incident is elaborated more fully in the Skidegate 

 version. 



The youth's brothers disappear a second time, ne goes to an inlet, hears conversa- 

 tion on the other side, and walks across on his hair-ribbon. He enters the house, 

 and sees the people testing their ability to lie under a fire. They call out a number 

 of supernatural beings, who, however, are not able to endure the test. He walks 

 back over the hair-ribbon, when he learns that the people are going to send for him. 

 When sent for, he goes with his mother by canoe. He is dressed in his Wa'sgo skin. 

 He lies down under the fire, and his sister oils him with the duck grease. His 

 mother puts feathers on him. Thus he becomes the supporter of the world, and the 

 supernatural beings settle at their proper places Sk. 



