XVII 

 MAN'S FIRST GRIEF 



AFTER Raven had gone, Man and his son went 

 down to the sea to try some of the ways they had 

 been taught. They made rather bad work of it, 

 but the son caught a seal and held it. They tried 

 to kill it with their hands, but couldn't do it until, 

 finally, the son struck it a hard blow on the head 

 with his fist. Then the father took off the skin 

 with his hands alone, and tore it into strips which 

 they dried. With these strips they set snares for 

 reindeer. 



When they went to look at the snare next 

 morning, they found the cords bitten in two ; for 

 in those days the reindeer had sharp teeth like 

 dogs. They stood looking at the ruined snare 

 for a few minutes, and then the son said: 



" Let us go farther down along the deer trail 

 and dig a pit and set our snare just at the first 

 edge of the pit, with a heavy stone fastened in it. 

 Then when the deer puts his head in the snare 



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