Page:Tlingit Myths and Texts.djvu/23

Rh Now Raven formed a certain plan. He got a small canoe and began paddling along the beach saying, "I wonder who is able to go along with me." Mink came down and said, "How am I?" and Raven said, "What with?" (i. e., What can you do?). Said Mink, "When I go to camp with my friends, I make a bad smell in their noses. With that." But Raven said, "I guess not. You might make a hole in my canoe," so he went along farther. The various animals and birds would come down and say, "How am I?" but he did not even listen. After some time Deer ran down to him, saying, "How am I?" Then he answered, "Come this way, k!î, come this way k!î." He called him k!î because he never got angry. Finally Raven came ashore and said to Deer, "Don't hurt yourself, k!î." By and by Raven said "Not very far from here my father has been making a canoe. Let us go there and look at it."

Then Raven brought him to a large valley. He took very many pieces of dried wild celery and laid them across the valley, covering them with moss. Said Raven, "k!î, watch me, k!î, watch me." Repeating this over and over he went straight across on it, for he is light. Afterwards he said to Deer, "k!î, now you come and try it. It will not break," and he crossed once more. "You better try it now," he said. "Come on over." Deer did so, but, as he was on the way, he broke through the bridge and smashed his head to pieces at the bottom. Then Raven went down, walked all over him, and said to himself, "I wonder where I better start, at the root of his tail, at the eyes, or at the heart." Finally he began at his anus, skinning as he went along. He ate very fast.

When he started on from this place, he began crying, "k!î, k!î," and the fowls asked him, "What has become of your friend, k!î?" "Some one has taken him and pounded him on the rocks, and I have been walking around and hopping around since he died."

By and by he came to a certain cliff and saw a door in it swing open. He got behind a point quickly, for he knew that here lived the woman who has charge of the falling and rising of the tide. Far out Raven saw some kelp, and, going out to this, he climbed down on it to the bottom of the sea and gathered up a number of small sea urchins (nīs!) which were lying about there. He brought these ashore and began eating, making a great gulping noise as he did so. Meanwhile the woman inside of the cliff kept mocking him saying, "During what tide did he get those things?"

While Raven was eating Mink came along, and Raven said, "Come here. Come here." Then he went on eating. And the woman again said, "On what tide did you get those sea urchins you are making so much noise about?" "That is not your business," answered Raven. "Keep quiet or I will stick them all over your