boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 735 



woman is referred to. The same idea of children originating from 

 mucus and tears occurs in Kai 261 , BC 84, K Boas 5.372, Nu 5.116, Nu 

 ap 904, Co 5.84, Lku'figEn Hill-Tout 7.335 ; Sh 708. A child originat- 

 ing from a bod is found in Tl 177, and in a Kwakiutl tale 5.160, Ne 5.189, 

 9.39; from a sore Sk 227; from the thigh Sk 348, M 405. Only dis- 

 tantly related to this theme is the origin of a chdd from some secre- 

 tion of the body, which forms part of the Raven legend (see No. 41, 

 p. 708). Still more distantly related is a tale from the Fraser River 

 Delta (5.28), which tells how a child originated from fish roe. A 

 group of similar stories is found among the Coast tribes of the State 

 of Washington, in which children originate from fish roe, branches 

 Chin 194; arrow-heads Till 134; a hammer, Coos 109; bedding of a 

 cradle Lil Hill-Tout 6.188. All these tales have in common that the 

 children so born come to assist their lonely mothers or fathers, and 

 help them to take revenge on the people or beings who caused their 

 misfortune. 



In the Tsinishian story here discussed the mucus becomes a child. Next the young 

 woman puts into her bosom a grindstone, a branch of a crabapple tree, a feather, and a 

 shell. They become children, and are named Mucus, Little Grindstone, Little 

 Crabapple Tree, Little Feather, Knife Hand. [She finds old wedges, one of crabapple 

 wood, one of sloe wood, one of spruce wood, a grindstone, knife, and mucus. She lies 

 down for four days and four nights. Children are born who are called Little Crabapple 

 Tree, Little Sloe Bush, Little Spruce Tree, Little Mountain, Little Knife, Mucus N.] 

 [She weeps, puts on her belt. She puts under her blanket shavings with which her 

 brothers had played, the feather, crabapple wood, cedar-bark strips which were used 

 in making a mat, and mud of her brother's footprints. She has ten children — nine 

 boys and one girl. The youngest one has a blue hole in his cheek Sk 330.] 



The Tlingit and Masset versions tell of one child only. 



A girl weeps, starts fires in the houses. She walks about making footprints like 

 those of her uncles. Then she sits on a high platform in front of her uncle's house. 

 She cooks roots, which she prepares with her mother's scraper. She eats them. 

 She becomes pregnant, and gives birth to a child M. One of the women swallowed 

 root-sap, which made her pregnant Tin. The daughter chewed the ends of the roots 

 that her mother gathered for making baskets T16 193. 



(c) The Children Obtain Possession of the Plume ' 



When the children grow up, they learn from their mother what has happened, 

 and begin to play, as their elders have done. The plume comes down again. Little 

 Feather takes the plume and is wafted up. Mucus holds on to him and sticks to the 

 ground in his natural form. Little Grindstone becomes a mountain. Little Crab- 

 apple Tree sends out roots. Knife Hand climbs up and cuts the feather above her 

 brother's head Ts. [Crabapple Tree, Sloe Rush, Spruce Tree, Grindstone, Mucus, 

 are taken up hi this order. The sister climbs up and cuts off the feather N.] [The 

 eldest brother takes the feather and becomes mucus; the second one becomes a shaving; 

 the third, a feather; the fourth, cedar bark; the fifth, mud. In each case the feather 

 pulls five times, then they give way. The next is the Crabapple Tree, who sends out 

 his roots. The sister goes around the tree, saying, "Make yourself strong!" When 

 only one root is left, she climbs up and cuts off the feather Sk 330.] [The plume appears 

 above the boy, who does not take it. His mother warns him. On the following day 

 he plays with it. It cannot lift him, and he becomes roots, which spread all over 



1 Versions as under (o). 



