Page:Journal of American Folklore vol. 12.djvu/346

 1 4 Journal of A merican Folk-Lore.

II. THE RAVEN (tE-TCI*). 1

There once lived an old couple who wished to see their only daughter married to a rich man. When any one arrived at their camp, the old man sent his son down to the landing to see if the stranger was provided with the necessary bone beads upon his cloth- ing, in order that he might be received according to his rank. One day the boy came running in, saying that some one had come whom he would like to have for a brother-in-law, for he had a great number of fine beads. The mother went down to the river bank, and saw a richly dressed stranger, whom she also thought would make a suit- able husband for her daughter. She noticed that the shore was wet and muddy, so she procured some bark and tore it into strips for the stranger to walk upon. He was invited to enter their tipi and was seated next the girl. A dog was tied in the corner of the lodge, and the visitor said, " I cannot eat while that dog is in here ; " so the woman, thinking the man must be a very great personage to be so particular, took the dog away into the forest and killed it. The next morning as she went for wood, she noticed that the earth around the body of the dog was marked with bird tracks, and that its eyes had been picked out. When she returned to the camp she told what she had seen, and insisted upon having all present take off their moccasins that she might see their feet, as she had heard of the Raven deceiving people by appearing in the human form. The stranger, who was really the Raven, took his moccasins off, and slipped them on so quickly that his feet were not noticed. The girl had promised to marry him, and he insisted upon having her go away with him at once, as he feared that his true character would be discovered. He arranged to return in a few days, and took his bride down to his canoe. As soon as they set off down the river it began to rain. The Raven was seated in front of the woman, who noticed that the falling rain was washing out something white from his back ; this made her suspicious, and she determined to escape from the canoe. Reaching forward, she succeeded in tying the tail of the Raven's coat to a cross-bar of the canoe. She then asked to be set ashore for a minute, saying that she would come right back. He told her not to go far, but she started to run for home as soon as she got behind the trees. The Raven also tried to get ashore, but his tail was tied, and he could not succeed in his human form ; so he

1 The common raven, Corvus corax americanus, is quite abundant at McPher- son and throughout the Loucheux country. It is usually called the " crow " by the whites in the far north, but the true crow, C. americanus, is not found in the Loucheux territory, the northern limit of its distribution being the mouth of the Liard River.

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