SWANTOXJ TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 13 



would float up on a good sandy beach." After he had wished this 

 many times, the whale began to drift along, and it finally floated 

 ashore on a long sandy beach. 



After a while some young fellows who were always shooting about 

 In this neighborhood with their bows and arrows, heard a voice on 

 the beach say, "I wonder who will make a hole on the top so that 

 he can be my friend." The boys ran home to the towm and reported, 

 "We heard a queer noise. Something floated ashore not far from 

 this place, and a person inside said, 'I wish that somebody would 

 make a hole above me so that he can be my friend.' " Then the people 

 assembled around the whale and heard Raven's words very clearly. 

 They began to cut a hole just over the place these came from and 

 presently they heard some one inside say, "Xone'-e." AVhen the hole 

 was large enough. Raven flew straight up out of it until he was lost 

 to sight. And they said to him, "Fly to any place where you would 

 like to go." After that they cut the whale up and in course of time 

 came to the spot where Raven had lighted liis fire to make oil. 



Meanwhile Raven flew back of their camp to a large dead tree 

 that had crumbled into fine jiieces and began rubbing on it to dry 

 himself. Wlien he thouglit that the people were through making 

 oil, he dressed himself up well and repaired to tlie town. There he 

 said to the people," W^s anytliing heard in tliat tc!an (his word for 

 whale)?" and one answered, "Yes, a queer noise was heard inside 

 of the whale." "I wonder what it was," said Raven. 



After their food was all prepared Raven said to the people, "Long 

 ago, when a sound was heard inside of a tc!an, all the people moved 

 out of their town so as not to be killed. All who remained 

 were destroyed. So you better move from this town." Then all 

 of the people said, "All of us better move from this town rather 

 than be destroyed." So they went oif leaving all of their things, 

 and Raven promptly took possession of them. 



Raven once went to a certain place outside of here (vSitka) in his 

 canoe. It was calm there, but he began rocking the canoe up and 

 down with his feet until he had made a great many waves. There- 

 fore there are many waves there now even when it is calm outside, 

 and a canoe going in tliither always gets lost. 



By and by Raven came to a sea gull standing at the mouth of a 

 creek and said to it, "What are you sitting in this way for? How do 

 you caH your new month?" " YAdaq!o'},"'* replied the sea gufl. 

 Raven was ciuestioning him in this way because he saw many her- 

 ring out at sea. So he said, "I don't believe at all what you say. 

 Fly out and see if you can bring in a herring." Tliis is why, until 



"This name does not occur in the list given by this same man {^Twenty-sixth Annual Report of the 

 Bureau of American Elhno'.ogy, p. 420.) He said it was the eighth month and according to his list the 

 eighth month is March, which he calls Ilin ta'nAx kaya'ni di'si, ''Month when things under theses, 

 begin to grow," 



