776 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [bth. ann. 31 



Indians every year, each at a definite season. At the same time the salmon taboos 

 are announced. It is particularly forbidden that salmon-bones are to come near a 

 corpse Squ Hill-Tout 3.520. 



(id) The Capture of the Salmon 



In the Tsimshian version there follows nere a description of the 

 method of catching salmon (Ts 197). 



Incidentally it is told here that the prince's father calls the shamans to investigate 

 his whereabouts. The shaman tells him that as soon as they eat the dried spring 

 salmon, the Salmon chief will recover completely and will bring back the boy Ts 198. 



The boy, who has assumed the form of a salmon, is caught by his father. A woman 

 cuts it, and finds a small child in the stomach. The child grows very quickly, and 

 tells that he is the prince who had been carried away by the Salmon. Before leaving 

 the Salmon country, the prince had been given by the Salmon chief a round pebble, 

 which he is always holding in his mouth (see p. 861) Ts 202. 



The salmon swim up the river, and the method of fishing is described in some detail. 

 The boy, who has assumed the shape of a salmon, swims to his father's canoe, sticking 

 his head out of the water. He is pulled on a sandbar and clubbed. When his mother 

 cuts the salmon, she finds a copper necklace under the skin, by means of which she 

 recognizes her son. The salmon is put into a basket, which is placed on the roof 

 of the house, and on the next morning a man is found in its place Tl 306. 



The boy in the form of a salmon swims close to hie father's canoe. The father 

 spears him and loses consciousness. When the mother cuts off the salmon-head, she 

 finds her son's copper necklace. The salmon is placed on a mat surrounded with 

 feathers. The mat is placed on top of the house, and the shamans sing. In the 

 middle of the night something shakes, and the man sees that the head of the salmon 

 has assumed human shape. Gradually he revives. He has obtained now the spirits 

 Moldy End Of Salmon and Sand-Hill Crane At The Mouth Of Amusement Creek, Sit 

 (Horizon) Woman, Herring, and Salmon People's Canoe Tl 315, 316. 



The Salmon boy jumps towards his mother. She makes a wall of rocks and kills 

 him. When she cuts off the head, she strikes the copper neck-ring. The salmon is 

 put on a mat, which is placed on the roof of the house. After two days a noise is 

 heard, and a human head is coming out from the salmon. The people purify them- 

 selves. After four days the boy is out down to the shoulders. After two days more 

 he comes out completely Kai 245. 



The Salmon youth recognizes his mother, who clubs him. When she cuts off his 

 head, her knife strikes her son's copper necklace, by which he is recognized. The 

 salmon is placed on a clean board and put on the roof. After four nights a noise is 

 heard. The rain washes off the salmon skin, and he becomes a human being Sk 12. 



Deans' version Ts 6.81 contains only the incident of the disappearance of the boy 

 who wears a copper bracelet, the capture of a salmon that wears the same bracelet 

 under its skin, and the restoration of the boy. 



The youth and his wife learn that the salmon traps of the Indians have been finished . 

 They enter the trap. The youth wishes that his father treat him carefully. The 

 salmon are hung up to dry. Then they assume human form BC 77. 



In the Bellacoola version 5.266 it is simply stated that the fish, on arriving, assume 

 human form. The boy asks his father to clean his house. The boy believes that he 

 has been away two days only, but in reality he has been away two years BC 5 267 



The young man is homesick, and returns with his wife and many presents. He 

 meets his brother near his father's house. It is found that he has been away for 

 four years. He gives presents to the people H ap 888. 



