NELSox] RAVEN CREATION MITH 453 



the pod, falling to the ground, where he stood up, a full-grown 

 man. He looked about him, and then moved his hands and arms, his 

 neck and legs, and examined himself curiously. Looking back, he saw 

 the pod from which he had fallen, still hanging to the vine, with a hole 

 in the lower end, out of which he had dropped. Then he looked about 

 him again and saw that he was getting farther away from his starting 

 place, and that the ground moved up and down under his feet and 

 seemed very soft. After a while he had an unpleasant feeling in his 

 stomach, and he stooped down to take some water into his mouth from 

 a small pool at his feet. The water ran down into his stomach and he 

 felt better. When he looked up again he saw approaching, with a 

 waving motion, a dark object which came on until just in front of 

 him, when it stopped, and, standing on the ground, looked at him. 

 This was a raven, and, as soon as it stopped, it raised one of its 

 wings, pushed up its beak, like a mask, to the top of its head, and 

 changed at once into a man. Before he raised his mask Eaven had 

 stared at the man, and after it was raised he stared more than ever, 

 moving about from side to side to obtain a better view. At last he 

 said: "What are you! Whence did you come? I have never seen 

 anything like you." Then Raven looked at Man, and was still more 

 surprised to find that this strange new being was so much like himself 

 in shape. 



Then he told Man to walk away a few steps, and in astonishment 

 exclaimed again : " Whence did you come ? I have never seen anything 

 like you before." To this Man replied: "I came from the pea-pod." 

 And he pointed to the plant from which he came. "Ah!" exclaimed 

 Raven, "1 made that vine, but did not know that anything like you 

 would ever come from it. Come with me to tbe high ground over there j 

 this ground 1 made later, and it is still soft and thin, but it is thicker 

 and harder there." 



In a short time they came to the higher land, which was firm under 

 their feet. Then Raven asked Man if he had eaten anything. The 

 latter answered that he had taken some soft stufi' into him at one of 

 the pools. "Ah!" said Raven, "you drank some water. Now wait 

 for me here." 



Then he drew down the mask over his face, changing again into a 

 bird, and flew far up into the sky where he disappeared. Man waited 

 where he had been left until the fourth day, when Raven returned, 

 bringing four berries in his claws. Pushing up his mask. Raven became 

 a man again and held out two salmonberries and two heathberries, 

 saying, "Here is what I have made for you to eat. I also wish them 

 to be plentiful over the earth. Now eat them." Man took the berries 

 and placed them in his mouth one after the other and they satisfied 

 his hunger, which had made him feel uncomfortable. Raven then led 

 Man to a small creek near by and left him while he went to the water's 

 edge and molded a couple of pieces of clay into the form of a pair of 



