boas] APPENDIX I NOOTKA TALES 889 



The chief of the Ts !a £ win' £ ath a sept was Raven (Qo'*cin' £ mIt), 

 who lived at Yogwat; and he was sad because there was light in 

 Heltsaes and there was none in his village. Then he thought he 

 would call all his people into hi" house to see what they would say 

 about it. He sent out his speakers to call all the people. It did not 

 take a long time to do that, for they wanted to find out what their 

 chief wished. 



After they had all come into his house, Raven spoke, asking the 

 wise men what they thought of the darkness of his village, .while 

 there was light in the other village close to his; and he said that it 

 seemed bad to him. Then all the people answered him, saying, 

 "Who is wiser than you, great chief? You are the only one who 

 can get it." He replied, "I will try to get it; and if I do not get it, 

 then one of you, my wise men, must try." 



After he had finished talking, all the people went out of his house, 

 and Raven prepared for the trip ; and when everything was ready, 

 he started. 



He went to the village ; and when he came to one end of it, he found 

 a spring where the people went to draw their drinking-water, for the 

 ground was covered with tracks. Close to the spring stood a hemlock 

 tree, which had a branch full of leaves. He said, "I will climb this 

 tree, and stay there until the princess of the chief comes to draw 

 water;" for he knew that the chief had a daughter. He said that 

 he was going to wait for her to come and draw some water. 



He took his seat among the branches, and there he sat until it was 

 getting toward evening. Then he saw Gwawete's daughter coming. 

 She carried a small bucket in her hand; and she came and sat down 

 by the well. She washed out her bucket, and meanwhile Raven 

 transformed himself into the leaf of a hemlock tree. After she had 

 washed her bucket, she dipped it into the water and filled it ; and 

 while she was doing so, Raven, in the form of a hemlock leaf, dropped 

 into the bucket. 



After filling her bucket with water, she remained sitting there quite 

 a while, as though she were thinking about something; and just 

 before she arose she took up her little bucket and took a drink. The 

 little hemlock leaf went down with the water she was drinking. 

 Then she arose and went home, carrying her bucket of water. 



In the night she felt something moving inside of her, like a small 

 snake, and she screamed and cried for pain. All her father's people 

 came into the house to see what ailed her. Soon they discovered 

 that she was pregnant, and they talked about it, for she had never 

 yet gone with any man. 



On the second day she was quite stout, and on the third day it 

 looked as if she were about to give birth to her child, for the hemlock 

 leaf had become a baby; and on the fourth day the young woman 

 gave birth to a boy. 



