62 BUREAU OF AMERICAN ETHNOLOGY [bull. 39 



all these things." So he took sticks and set them all round the raven. 

 "Before I cut it," he said, "I will let the wings flap over it. This will 

 be (i. e., represent) your enemies. Before I cut it I will cause it to 

 kill all of your enemies. The raven will have so much strength." 

 When they tested him" the spirit said, ''All people on sticks," meaning 

 that it wanted all of their foes to fall on sticks and be destroyed when 

 they fought. Then they prepared, saying, "We will start." The 

 shaman said, "At the moment when we arrive a man is going to chop 

 down a tree in front of us." 



Toward morning they came close to the fort, all ]irepared for fight- 

 ing. After they had surrounded it a man came out with a stone ax 

 and climbed up a tree to chop ofl" limbs. Then they shot him with 

 arrows, unnoticed by the fort people, so that he fell down dead. But 

 a little while afterward the fort people said, "Where is that man who 

 climbed the tree a short time ago. He is not there now." At once 

 they rushed together on both sides, and all those in the fort were 

 destroyed just as the shaman had ]>redicted. Then they returned to 

 their own fort, which was also known as Eidachon-trap fort (Cal nu). 



Another time Ave women went around the island where they had 

 their fort, after mussels, and came to a reef on the outer side. They 

 left their canoe untied and it floated away. Then the tide began to 

 come up. They stood up on the reef with their hands in the air, sing- 

 ing death songs for themselves, for they knew they were about to die. 

 After that the reef was called Woman reef (Ca q!a't!agu), on account 

 of the women who were destroyed there. 



A year after this some people went across from the fort to a lake 

 into which salmon iim, and were sur])rised on encountering people. 

 They thougllt it was some war party from very far south and beat a 

 precipitate retreat to the fort. Then the people in the fort saw a big 

 canoe all covered with abalone shell come out from this place and 

 make straight toward them. When it had come close in, the chief 

 questioned these strangers and learned that they were on a friendly 

 visit from Yakutat. It took the strength of all the people to bring up 

 this canoe. Then they made the fort chief a present of land-otter 

 skins, marten skins, skins of all kinds. This was the custom in olden 

 times, a slave being generally given back. 



The chief at this place hail a nephew named Yetxa' who was very 

 fond of gambling. The fourth day that the visitors were in town the 

 chief's nephew was away from home, and the fire went out. Then he 

 acted as though he were crazy. He went down to the valuable canoe 

 of the visitors, broke off the stern piece for firewood, and threw it in- 

 doors so that the abalone shells fell oft" of it. 



Next morning, when the man that owned the canoe got up, he saw 

 that his stern piece was missing, and that burnt abalone shells were 



a That is, when the people allowed him to perform before them. 



