Traditions of the Thompson River Indians (cont.)
The next incident of our tale, however, can be traced among many of the neighboring tribes. Coyote makes a tree, which he induces his son to climb. Then he makes the tree grow until it reaches the sky. The inducement held out to the boy is a nest of eagles on the top of the tree. The Ponca11 tell the same incident. They relate, how Ishtinike makes a tree, and induces his friend to climb it in order to recover his arrows. Petitot tells the identical story from the Hare Indians and from the Chippewayan12. Dr. Livingston Farrand has found the story of an ascent of the sky by means of a growing tree among the Chilcotin, who live northwest of the Thompson Rive Indians. The boy reaches the sky and travels over an extensive prairie. After a while he reaches houses in which baskets an, other household utensils are living, and when he tries to carry away one of them, he is beaten by the others, and finds that they are the inhabitants of the house. This last incident has no verb close analogon among the other tribes, although it reminds us forcibly of the visit to the house of the shadows, told by the Chinook Tsimshian, and Tlingit13. In these tales the traveller reaches a house inhabited by shadows, by whom he is beaten whenever he tries to take away some of their provisions and of their household utensils.
The Coyote travels on, and meets two blind women, whom he makes quarrel by taking away their food. They smell him, and are transformed into birds. This tale is found very extensively along the Pacific coast. The tribes of lower Fraser River tell of a boy who reached the sky, and met two blind sisters. He takes away their food and makes them quarrel. Then they advise him in regard to the dangers that he is going to encounter on his way to the house of the sun14. The same incident occurs in the traditions of the Coast Salish, referring to a man who tried to recover his wife who was carried away by a finback whale. He descended to the bottom of the sea, and met a number of blind old women, one o1 whom was distributing food among the others. He took it away and opened their eyes, and in return was given advice by the women15. The Comox tell of a young man who visited the sky, where he met the Snail-women, whose food he took away. He restored their eyesight, and they advised them in regard to the dangers he would meet16. The Kwakiutl have the tradition of a man who wanted to marry the daughter of a chief. On his journey he met a number of old women, and the same incident occurred as told before17. In Nahwitti the same story is told of a great transformer, Q'a'nig·ilak who met four blind girls, whom he made quarrel in the same manner. He transformed them into ducks Finally, I have recorded the same incident among the Bella Coola, who tell of a boy who reached the sky, and restored the eyesight of a number of blind women. He transformed them into ducks18. All these incidents are identical with those recorded among the Thompson River Indians. Far to the east, in the collection of tales of the Ponca made by Dorsey, a similar incident occurs, which, however, bears only slight resemblance with the one discussed here, and which may be of quite independent origin. It is told how an invisible visitor burns the cheek of the Thunderers, and thus makes them quarrel19.
The following incident, in which it is told how the boy visited the spiders and how they let him down from the sky, does not exhibit any striking similarities with the tales of the neighboring tribes, although the occurrence of a descent from heaven by help of a spider is an exceedingly frequent feature of the North American mythologies. The descent from the sky is remarkably similar to a descent told by the tribes of lower Fraser River, in which two spiders let the visitor down in a basket which is tied to a long rope. When he reaches the tops of the trees, he shakes the rope, whereupon the spiders continue to let him down until he reaches the ground20 The story of the Chippewayan21 may also be mentioned here: a person is let down from the sky by means of a rope.
The following incidents of the talc do not give any occasion for remarks, although they remind us in a general way of the tales of the neighboring tribes. When we confine ourselves to more complicated events, we are again struck by the incidents told on p. 26. The Raven is given deer-fat by a person whom he had helped before; he took the fat home and gave it secretly to his children. The attention of the people was called to this fact by the noise the children were making when being fed by the Raven. A person made one of the children disgorge the fat, and thus discovered that the Raven was well provided for, while the other people were starving. This incident occurs in the traditions of the Coast Salish, where a boy sends fish to his grandmother, who hides them until dark. The fish are discovered, however, when she begins to eat them. The same tale is told by the Kwakiutl, where the boy sends his grandmother whale blubber, which is discovered when she is eating it. The incident is also told at Nahwitti. Farther north the traditions agree with that of the Thompson River Indians, in that a child is made to disgorge the food. We find this tale among the Bella Coola and among the Tsimshian22. Dr. L Farrand has recorded the same tale among the Chilcotin.
The following parts of the tradition have very close analogs on the coast; more particularly with the mink tales of the tribes on lower Fraser River and with the As'ai'yahaL tradition of the Tillamook23.
