900 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [huh. ANN. 31 



life again; but I am sorry to say that your children will never come 

 to life again." So Raven began to cry, and he pulled off all the hair 

 from his head. Red Cod went home hungry. 

 That ends the story. 



5. Raven and Black Bear 



Raven was one of the chiefs of the Mowa'tc!ath a tribe. One day 

 he met his friend Black Bear (Tci'mis). When they met, he said to 

 Black Bear, "Will you go out to fish for halibut, for we have no food 

 to eat?" 



Then Bear said, " Yes, I will go with you if you will promise to take 

 good care of me." 



Raven said, "Why, what harm can I do to you? You are four 

 times larger than I am. It is your place to take care of me, for you 

 have greater strength than I have." 



Bear replied, "That is so. Let us be going now!" 



Raven told him to get liis halibut fishing-line ; and Bear went into 

 his house, got his halibut fishing-line, and took it down to the beach. 

 He had also a piece of octopus for bait, and he put it into Raven's 

 canoe. Then he told his friend Raven that he was ready; "for," 

 said he, "my paddle and my halibut fishing-line are in your canoe." 



Raven took his halibut fishing-line and his paddle from the corner of 

 his house and went down to the beach, where his canoe was. Then 

 Bear went to the bow, and Raven sat in the stern. They paddled 

 out to the mouth of Ma'tclath a Inlet. 



Here Raven said to Bear, " We are far enough out; I will let go the 

 anchor; we will stay here anchored while we are fishing;" and he put 

 the anchor overboard. After he had done this, he turned his face 

 toward the stern of the canoe, away from the bow, for he did not 

 want Bear to see him putting the bait on his hook. Bear took his 

 halibut hook, put a piece of octopus on it, and fastened the hook to 

 his fine. Then he put the two hooks on the spruce-twig crosspiece, 

 tied the stone sinker to the middle of the crosspiece, and threw it over 

 the side of the bow. Raven did the same to his fine, only Bear did 

 not see what he put on Ids hook for bait. 



As soon as Raven's hook reached bottom, he got a bite, and hauled 

 up his line. There was a large halibut on it. He took his hook out of 

 the fish, and then threw the hook overboard again. Soon he had 

 another bite, and he hauled his fine up with another large halibut 

 on it. He kept on doing tins until the canoe was half full of fish. All 

 this time poor Bear did not catch a single fish. Then Black Bear 

 said to Raven, " Friend, tell me how it is that I do not get a bite, and 

 you have nearly filled the canoe with halibut ? Will you not give me 

 some of your bait to put on my hooks?" Raven laughed, saying, 



