boas] COMPARATIVE STUDY OF TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY 871 



in his canoe, but is rescued by gulls, which carry him to the shore. An epidemic of 

 smallpox visits the villages. He becomes sick. Four arrows are shot up to the sky, 

 which do not return, and with each shot blood flows from TsEgu'ksk u 's cheek. This 

 shows that he will die, but will afterwards revive. He dies. His body is tied in a 

 box, but revives and sits on the grav-box in the shape of an owl. A painted pole 

 which he has erected in front of his house falls over and is seen to be rotten. At the 

 same time the owl falls back into the box dead N 233. 



The incident of TsEgu'ksk u 's transformation into an owl and his 

 subsequent death is parallel to the incident recorded in Ts 322. 



The Spirit of Sleep 



(3 versions: N Boas 5.655; Tl 326; M 426) 



In Boas 5.655 a dance is described in which appears the spirit of sleep. The 

 legend itself has not been recorded, but it must be analogous to Tl 326, the story of 

 a hunter who by mistake killed the spirit of sleep which flew about his canoe in the 

 shape of a bird. While he himself could not sleep after this, he had killed by his 

 act the other people. The same story is found in M 426. 



In the story of Rotten Feathers the hero abducts the wife of the Spirit of Sleep, 

 who is warned by his chamber vessel, pursues the fugitives, and raises obstacles in 

 their way N 235. 



The Owl 



A chief's son at Prairie Town cries all the time. His father says that the Owl shall 

 take him. The Owl carries the boy's sister to the top of a tree and marries her. 

 After some time the Owl's child is taken to the house of the girl's father. His crest 

 and song are given to his maternal uncle, Boas 5.324. 



The Boys who Became Supernatural Beings 



Some boys of the Raven Clan stay in small houses in the woods. They play with 

 a spring salmon and dance. Gradually they become supernatural beings. The hair 

 of their leader turns into crystal and copper, Boas 5.326 



