A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

Overview

Philip’s portion of Txa’msEm and Logobola’ introduces the brothers crossing the mouth of the Nass River in separate canoes. Logobola’ takes off his hat and lays it upside down. Fog spreads across the water; he drifts quietly while Txa’msEm paddles without finding his way. Only after his frightened brother repeatedly calls does he gather the fog into the hat and put it on again. Visibility returns and they complete the crossing.

At their next camp Logobola’ asks what Txa’msEm intends to drink and offers him a basket cup. The stream has disappeared. Txa’msEm understands who has withheld it and pleads with his brother not to torment him. Logobola’ then dips up water himself and allows him to drink. His control concerns these particular narrative encounters; the source does not require treating him as a universal personification of all fog or fresh water.

The brothers subsequently stake the Skeena and Nass rivers on an archery contest. Logobola’ has a fine quiver box, and Canada jays attend him as grandchildren; Txa’msEm is assisted by crows. Logobola’ sees his own arrow strike the stone, then watches the crows remove it and install his brother’s arrow. He nevertheless acknowledges the claimed victory and states that olachen will return to the Nass. Txa’msEm responds that Skeena salmon will remain fat. Logobola’ finally departs toward sunrise while his brother goes toward the sea.

These episodes are expressly credited to Philip in the 1902 collection, while the preceding birth-and-sky narrative is assigned to Moses. Their printed relationship does not justify merging Logobola’ with every similarly powerful brother or rival in another community’s Raven stories.

Fog released and recalled with a hatWater withheld and restoredCanada-jay grandchildrenRecognises a cheated contest
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Origins & earliest records

Franz Boas, Tsimshian Texts, Bureau of American Ethnology Bulletin 27 (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1902). Recorded at Kinkolith, at the Nass River’s mouth, in November–December 1894. Boas’s introduction, dated June 1899, names Philip, Moses, Chief Mountain and Moody as the collection’s narrators. The volume prints the language it calls Nîsqa’E alongside English translation; individual story headings identify their tellers.

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Records & interpretation

Complete first sequence pp.7–24 read; Logobola’ episodes6–8 specifically assigned to Philip. The longer opening1–5 belongs to Moses.

Selected bibliography

Documented works and useful reading. This is not a list of every appearance.

  1. 01

    Tsimshian Texts: Nass River Dialect

    Philip, teller; Franz Boas, recorder and translator · 1902

    Txa’msEm and Logobola’, episodes6–8, pp.16–21, within complete pp.7–24 sequence; heading attribution and introduction p.5.

Family & connections

A source-supported family tree or inspiration record has not yet been compiled for this profile. Related reading below indicates a connection in subject matter, not a proven lineage or creative influence.

References

Sources supporting this profile. Linked pages have their own scope and editorial standards.

  1. Primary textBoas 1902 original Nass River collectionResearch access: 2026-10-05

Image credits

A sourced illustration has not yet been added. This gap is included in the coverage record.

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