Page:Tlingit Myths and Texts.djvu/28

14 the present time, people have differed in their opinions concerning the months and have disputed with one another.

After they had quarreled over it for a long time, the gull became angry, flew out to sea, and brought back a big herring. He lighted near Raven and laid the herring beside him, but, when Raven tried to get it, he gulped it down. In another direction from the sea gull Raven saw a large heron and went over to it. He said to the heron, &quot;Sea gull is calling you Big-long-legs-always-walking-upon-the beach.&quot; Then, although the heron did not reply, he went back to the sea gull and said, &quot;Do you know what that heron is saying about you? He says that you have a big stomach and get your red eyes by sitting on the beach always looking out on the ocean for some thing to eat.&quot; Then he went back to the heron and said to it, &quot;When I meet a man of my own size, I always kick him just below the stomach. That fellow is talking too much about you. Go over, and I will help you thrash him.&quot; So the heron went over toward the sea gull, and, when he came close to it, Raven said, &quot;Kick him just under his stomach.&quot; He did so, and the big herring came out. Then Raven swallowed it quickly saying, &quot;Just for the Raven.&quot;

Going on again, Raven came to a canoe in which were some people lying asleep along with a big salmon which he took away. When the people awoke, they saw the trail where he had dragged it off, and they followed him. They found him lying asleep by the fire after having eaten the salmon. Seeing his gizzard hanging out at his buttocks, they twisted it off, ran home with it and used it as a shinny ball; this is why no human being now has a gizzard.

The people knew it was Raven s gizzard, so they liked to show it about, and they knocked it around so much that it grew large by the accumulation of sand. But Raven did not like losing his gizzard. He was cold without it and had to get close to the fire. When he came to the place where they were playing with it, he said, &quot;Let it come this way.&quot; No sooner had they gotten it near him, how ever, than they knocked it away again. After a while it reached him, and he seized it and ran off, with all the boys after him. As he ran he washed it in water and tried to fit it back in place. It was too hot from much knocking about, and he had to remove it again. He washed it again but did not get all of the sand off. That is why the raven's gizzard is big and looks as if it had not been washed.

Next Raven came to a town where lived a man called Fog (or Cloud)-on-the-Salmon (Xn/tkA-koga sIi). He wanted to marry this man s daughter because he always had plenty of salmon. He had charge of that place. So he married her, and they dried quantities of salmon, after which they filled many animal stomachs with salmon eggs. Then he loaded his canoe and started home. He put all of the fish eggs into the bow. On the way it became stormy, and they could