swAXTox] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 83 



They had already heard that Nas-cA'ki-yet had something called " day- 

 light/' which would some day come into the world, and they used to 

 talk about it a great deal. They were afraid of it. 



Then Raven shouted to the fishermen, "Why do you make so much 

 noise? If 3'ou make so much noise I will break daylight on you." 

 Eight canoe loads of people were fishing there. But they answered, 

 "You are not Nas-cA'kt-yel. How can you have the daylight?", and 

 the noise continued. Then Raven opened the box a little and light 

 shot over the world like lightning. At that the}" made still more noise. 

 So he opened the box completely and there was daylight everywhere. 



When this daylight burst upon the people they were very much 

 frightened, and some ran into the water, some into the woods. Those 

 that had hair-seal or fur-seal skins for clothing ran into the water and 

 became hair seals antl fur seals. Hair seal and fur seal w^ere formerly 

 only the names of the clothing they had. Those who had skins 

 called marten skins, black-bear skins, grizzly-bear skins, etc., ran 

 into the woods and turned into such animals. 



Petrel (GAnu'k) was one of the first persons created by Nas-cA'ki-yel. 

 He was keeper of the fresh water, and would let none else touch it. 

 The spring he owned was on a rocky island outside of Kuiu, called 

 Dekl'-nii (Fort-far-out), where the well may still be seen. Raven 

 stole a great moutliful of this water and dropped it here and there 

 as he went along. This is the origin of the great rivers of the world, 

 the Nass, Skeena, Stikine, Chilkat, and others. He said, "This thing 

 that I drop here and there will whirl all the time. It will not overflow 

 the world, yet there will be plenty of water." Before this time 

 Raven is said to have been pure white, but, as he was flying up through 

 the smoke hole with Petrel's water, the latter said, "Spirits, hold 

 dowm my smoke hole." So they held him until he was turned black 

 by the smoke. 



After this Raven saw a fire far out at sea. Tying a piece of pitch- 

 wood to a chicken hawk's bill, he told him to go out to this fire, touch 

 it with the pitchwood, and bring it back. When he had brought it to 

 him Raven put it into the rock and the red cedar saying, "This is 

 how you are to get your fire, from this rock and this red cedar," 

 and that is the way they formerly did. 



Thus Raven (Yel) went about among the natives of Alaska telling 

 them what to do, but Nas-cA'ki-yel they never saw. Raven showed 

 all the Tlingit what to do for a living, but he did not get to be such 

 a high person as Nas-cA'ki-yel, and he taught the people much fool- 

 ishness. At that time the world was full of dangerous animals and 

 fish. Raven also tied up some witches, and so it was through him 

 that the people believed in witchcraft. Then he told the people 

 that some wild animals were to be their friends (i. e., their crest 

 animals) to which they were to talk. 



