898 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [HUH. ANN. SI 



our friend the Red Cod (L!ihopi'h aJ rnit'), for I think that he has lots 

 of food! " So they went to Red Cod's house. As soon as Red Cod 

 saw them coming, he took a new mat, spread it down at the rear of 

 the house, and told Raven to sit down with his friend. As soon as 

 Raven sat down, he caught sight of twelve virgins or young women 

 sitting in one corner of the house. They were all very pretty, and 

 each was making a mat. Raven thought to himself, "I will ask 

 their father for one of them in marriage." While he was making 

 up his mind about it, however, Red Cod took some stones and put 

 them on the fire. After the stones were red-hot, Red Cod took a 

 pair of tongs and lifted all the firewood and all the burning charcoal 

 from the great heap of red-hot stones; and after that, he took some 

 old mats from one corner of the house and put them alongside of the 

 red-hot stones. Then he went out of the house, carrying a bucket 

 in his hand. He had not been out long, when he came in with the 

 bucket full of water; and he put it alongside of the red-hot stones. 



All the time he was doing this, Raven and his friend were saying to 

 each other, ' ' I wonder what he is going to feed us with ? " for they were 

 very hungry now. While they were talking about this, they saw the 

 man go toward the twelve young virgins. He called ten of them to 

 come with him to where the red-hot stones were ; and when they came 

 and stood all round it, Red Cod took hold of the first one standing 

 near him, and laid her on the red-hot stones. He kept on doing this 

 until the ten young virgins were on the heap of red-hot stones. 

 Then he threw the bucketful of water on them, and covered them up 

 with the mats to keep the steam in. 



While he was doing this, Raven said to his friend Sea Egg, "What 

 do you think of that man cooking those ten pretty young women in 

 that way ? I don't think I can eat them. I think that he ought to 

 have given them to us in marriage instead of cooking them for us to 

 eat. That I can not do — eat human beings! " He was just going to 

 get up to go out, when Red Cod lifted the mats from the heap of 

 cooked women; but when they were uncovered, he saw that they 

 were all turned into red cod. 



Then he said to the friends, "Will you come now and eat this fish? 

 I want to see if you can eat them all." Then Raven and Sea Egg 

 went and sat down alongside the heap of cooked fish, and began to 

 eat it; and Raven ate it nearly all, for his friend could not eat much. 

 After they had finished eating, Red Cod picked up what bones and 

 skin were left, and put them on an old mat. Then he took them 

 down to the beach and threw them into the salt water; and they all 

 came to life again — the ten young virgins. When Red Cod came into 

 the house, the ten pretty young women came in after him, and they 

 went and took the same seat in the corner of the house and began to 

 work on their mats again; and while they were laughing and joking. 

 Raven was watching them. 



