Smoke-hole chief (Philip’s Raven episode)

Overview

Txa’msEm comes to Smoke-hole’s house at the foot of a mountain intending to steal a bow decorated with abalone shell. The chief warns his grandchildren that this visitor takes desirable things. Txa’msEm chews alder bark before entering, assumes raven form and seizes the bow. Smoke-hole orders his door to shut, preventing escape. When the raven tries the roof opening, the chief tells the smoke-hole to close too, and it grips his neck.

The translation first calls the hanging raven dead and immediately says he is pretending to be dead. Rather than resolving that narrative wording into an anatomical diagnosis, the episode can be followed through the escape. As Smoke-hole makes a fire, Txa’msEm transfers his voice to a bluff behind the house. The resulting echo insults the chief and shames him into opening the smoke-hole.

The escaping raven lets chewed alder juice run from his mouth as counterfeit blood. Believing the apparent injury, the chief opens the aperture completely, then reproaches Txa’msEm for trying to steal again. The ending explicitly says the theft has failed. The bow therefore should not be listed as a successfully acquired treasure.

This commanding householder belongs to Philip’s Raven episode17. He is not automatically identified with the separate Moses narrative whose Smoke-hole gains strength by sleeping at the roof opening. A shared English name is insufficient to merge those distinct characters and actions.

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.

Records & interpretation

Complete third Txa’msEm English sequence, pp.34–71, read including short page-boundary continuations and final alternative3a. Heading attributes episodes1–17 to Philip and18–20,3a 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

   Third Txa’msEm, episode17, Philip; third sequence34–71 and introduction5.

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.