890 TSIMSHIAN MYTHOLOGY [eth. ask. 31 



The chief looked at the child, and said, "I know who that baby is. 

 It is Raven. Look at his great nose, his black feet, and his long 

 black claws! I don't think he came to us for nothing; he is going to 

 cause us trouble. I think it will be best to kill him." His daughter, 

 the baby's mother, however, said, ''If you kill my child, I will kill 

 myself also; if you want to kill him, better kill me first." 



The child was growing fast, and on the fourth day he could sit 

 up without any one looking after him; and in another four days he 

 could walk about. Then he began to cry, for he wanted to go down 

 to the beach to play in a canoe; and his mother had to take him down. 



Then he went into the canoe, and he cried more for the chief's 

 great paddle. The name of this great paddle was £ oxwa'p' £ is 

 £ no'p!iti £ mit' ("little paddle one-time-son"). One stroke with it 

 would send a canoe as far as the eye could see. The chief forbade 

 his daughter to give it to the boy; but she thought he might cry 

 himself to death, and said, "If my child cries himself to death, I 

 will kill myself; then you may take that paddle and put it in my 

 place, for it seems to me that you love your paddle more than 

 me." Then the chief let him have the paddle. 



When he had been given the paddle, he cried still more, and asked 

 for the box which contained the sun. Then the chief said, "No, I 

 will not let him have that box, for I think he is Raven." She replied, 

 "If my child cries himself to death, you will lose me also." And 

 while she was thus speaking to her father, Raven, the little boy, cried 

 so hard that his breath nearly stopped ; and of course the chief became 

 frightened lest the child should cry himself to death; and he said to 

 himself, "If that child dies, I shall lose my daughter also; so I will 

 let him have the sun box." He took the box and gave it to his 

 daughter; for he would not give it to the child himself, because he 

 bated him so. 



The young woman took the box to the child, who was in the canoe 

 all this time. When the boy took the box into the canoe, his mother 

 took hold <il' the anchor-line of the canoe; and as soon as he saw her 

 take hold of the line, he cried again for her to let go; but for a long 

 time she held it, until he began to cry so much that he nearly choked. 

 Then his mother became frightened, and let the anchor-line go. 



As soon as she had done so, the boy pushed the canoe out into deep 

 water. Then he grew to his right si/.e, and the people saw that he 

 w:is Raven; and they pushed their canoes into the water to capture 

 him. Raven, however, took the great paddle £ no'p!iti £ mit' e oxwa'p' 

 and paddled one stroke with it, and the canoe went away as far as 

 the eve could see; and when the people of Gwawete saw him use the 

 great paddle, they gave up the pursuit. 



When Raven came near his village, he said to himself, "I will 

 lift the cover on one side a little, so as to bring a little light, and 



