boas] COMPAEATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 845 



the slave who has helped him swells up in the doorway Ts 1, Ma [the slave swells 

 up, and they can not pass over his spines Ri MS; the slave shouts after a while, 

 saying that the woman has been taken away Tie; the three-headed house pole gives 

 the alarm Ska, Sk6]. The Killer Whales pursue him [Fast Rainbow Trout pursues 

 him above, Marten below Sko]. 



When the man escapes, he is protected by the slave. When the slave swells up in 

 the doorway, his wives peck open his belly, and he collapses Ts 1. They run in 

 pursuit, the slave ahead, who falls down, swells up again; his wives peck open his 

 belly and he collapses again Ts 1 [the man throws tobacco to the slave, who swells 

 up Ts 4; one of the slaves lets himself fall and lets his belly swell up; the Mouse 

 Lgi'yutsin gnaws it through ; the other slave falls down, and the Weas?l gnaws through 

 his swelling belly Sk&. The slave falls down and forms a mountain Se. 



This incident of the wood-splitting slave occurs also in similar form in the Nass story 

 of the Stars N 90; in a Skidegate story of a man who married a bird Sk 267; in the 

 Bellacoola version of Wa'walis BC 5.259; and in the Kwakiutl stories of the origin 

 of the salmon and of the visit to the chief of the Killer Whales Ne 5.175, Ne 9.219, 

 K 10.332, K 9.169. 



In the Tlingit versions referred to, the man goes back to the Sharks. 



The man carrying away his wife is called by his halibut hook to come into the 

 Sharks' house Tlo. The man reaches the fort of the Sharks, who put on their 

 armor; the halibut hook encourages him, and the fort kills the Killer Whales by 

 moving up and down and cutting off their heads; another assault of the Killer 

 Whales is beaten off in the same way Tie [the man is protected by the Sharks, who 

 fight with the Killer Whales; they sharpen their teeth on rocks and rip open the 

 stomachs of the Whales Tla]. The Sharks keep the man for some time and then send 

 him home Tic. 



In other versions practically the same obstacles are overcome 

 which he encounters on his way to the Killer Whale house. 



The Crane pretends to strike him; the Beaver helps him obstruct the trail by 

 means of dams; the Geese scatter down, which blinds the pursuers Ts 1. The Crane 

 pretends to strike him Ts 1, Ts 4. They are given again tobacco Ts 4. The Heron 

 hides him in his mouth; the Killer Whales smell him, but can not find him Ska. 

 The pursuing slave is given tobacco Ts 1, Ts 4. 



The version Ma introduces here the Obstacle myth. 



The man is pulled up into the canoe Ts 1, Ts4,Ts 5, Na 5 [he gets back to the canoe 

 Ska, Sk6, Se; there he finds that his companion has become an old man Sk6; he finds 

 the Marten dead and only the skeleton left Hai 6]. He sprinkles medicine over the 

 dead and revives them; the canoe is renewed in the same way Hai 6. On their way 

 home the slave of the Killer Whales pushes the canoe ahead Ma [is first in pursuit Ts 1]. 

 The man throws poison into the water and kills his pursuers Ts 1, Sk6 [they sink Ski]. 

 Oneofthcm becomes a rock near Port Simpson Ts 4. The kindly Killer Whale has three 

 fins; he is given tobacco and fat and returns Ts 1. The man becomes a rich chief 

 Ts 1. The woman retained her ]»mt-bag, which is inherited by her descendants Ts 4 . 

 The man then keeps his wife in the bottom of the innermost box in a set of five; she 

 disappears through a hole in the bottom of the box Sk6. He returns home Ska. 



The following tale is attached to only one Tsimshian version: 



The people go to Nass River, and the man puts up a stone totem-pule at Little Crab- 

 apple Tree. At his feast he divides animals and supernatural beings of the woods 

 and the sea. The monsters come in, bringing a wave of foam. When it disappears, 

 they are seen wearing their crests. The man takes the name Y!aga-k!une /0 sk. It is 

 daylight before the stone totem-pole has been erected. The guests disappear, and 

 therefore a stone remains leaning against the cliff Ts 1. 



Other versions of this tale have been discussed on p. 718. 



