swANTON] TLINGIT MYTHS AND TEXTS 85 



goiic't-hiwii' (bill -of -something -unknown). Then Raven went 

 from house to house inquiring for his bill initil he came to the house 

 of the chief. Upon asking for it there, they handed it to him wTapped 

 in eagle down. Then he put it back into its place and flew off through 

 the smoke hole. 



Raven left that town and came to another. There he saw a king 

 salmon jumping about far out at sea. He got it ashore and killed 

 it. Because he was able to do everything, the natives did all that 

 he told them. He was the one who taught all things to the natives, 

 and some of them still follow his teachings. After that he got all 

 kinds of birds for his servants. It was through these that people 

 found out he was the Raven. 



Once he went to a certain place and told the people to go and fight 

 others. He said, "You go there and kill them all, and you will have 

 all the things in that town." This was the beginning of war. 



After having been down among the fish teaching them, Raven 

 went among the birds and land animals. He said to the grouse 

 (nukt), "You are to live in a place where it is wintry, and you will 

 always look out for a place high up so that you can get plenty of 

 breeze." Then he handed the grouse four white pebbles, telling him 

 tr swallow them so that they might become his strength. "You 

 will never starve," he said, "so long as you have these four pebbles." 

 He also said, "You know that Sealion is your grandchild. You 

 must be generous, get four more pebbles and give them to him." 

 That is how the sealion came to have four large pebbles. It throws 

 these at hunters, and, if one strikes a person, it kills him. From 

 this story it is known that the grouse and the sealion can understand 

 each other. 



Raven said to the ptarmigan: "You will be the maker of snow- 

 shoes. You will know how to travel in snow." It was from these 

 birds that the Athapascans learnetl how to make snowshoes, and it 

 was from them that they learned how to put their lacings on. 



Next Raven came to the "wild canary" (s!as!), which is found in 

 the Tlingit country all the year round, and said: "You will be head 

 among the very small birds. You are not to live on what human 

 beings eat. Keep away from them." 



Then he went to the robin and said: "You will make the people 

 happy by letting them hear your whistle. You will be a good 

 whistler." 



Then he said to the flicker (kun) : "You will be the head one among 

 the birds next in size. You will not be found in all ])laces. You will 

 be very seldom seen." 



He said to the lugA'n, a bird that lives far out on the ocean: "You 

 will live far out on the ocean on lonely rocks. You will be very 

 seldom seen near shore." 



