the loon asked, "Can you see now?"
"I can see a dim shimmer," replied the boy.
"Take a long, long breath and hold it while we go down," said the
loon. "When you can hold it no more, let it come out very gradually.
As soon as the bubbles of air begin to rise I will know that you must
come to the surface and will bring you."
The third time they remained a long while under water, and when they
rose to the surface the boy could see as well as ever. He thanked the
loon very heartily, and it said to him:
"Go to your home now; but promise me never again to shoot a bird."
He gladly promised, and then ran away to his hut. There he found the
skin of the bear he had shot hanging up to dry. He was so angry that
he tore it down and, entering the hut, demanded of his mother, "Where
did you get the bearskin that is hanging outside the house?"
His mother perceived that he had recovered his sight and that he
suspected the truth about the bear. She was frightened at his anger
and sought to pacify him.
"Come here," she said, "and I will give you the best I have. But I
have no one to support me and am very poor. Come here and eat this. It
is very good."
The boy did not go near. Again he asked, "Where did you get the
bearskin that I saw hanging outside the door?"
She was afraid to tell him the truth, so she said, "A boat came here
with many men in it and they gave me the skin."
The boy did not believe her story. He was sure that it was the skin
of the bear he had shot. But he said nothing more. His mother was
anxious to make peace with him, and offered him food and clothing,
which he refused to take.
He went to the other Inuit who lived in the same village and made a
spear and a harpoon of the same pattern as they used. Then he watched
them throw the harpoons, and in a short time he became an expert
hunter and could catch many white whales.
But he could not forget his anger at his mother. He said to his
sister, "I will not come home while our mother lives in the house. She
abused me while I was blind and helpless, and she mistreated you for
pitying me. We will not kill her, but we will get rid of her and then
live together. Will you do what I have planned?"
She agreed. Then he went to hunt white whales. As he had no kayak he
stood on shore, winding the end of the harpoon string around his body,
and taking a firm footing so he could hold the whale until it quieted
down and died. Sometimes his sister went along to help him hold the
line.
One day his mother went to the beach, and he tied the string around
her body and told her to take a firm footing. She was a trifle nervous
for she had never done the thing before, and she said, "Harpoon a
small dolphin, else I may not be able to hold it, if it is large
enough to make a strong pull."
After a short time a young animal came up to breathe, and she cried,
"Kill that one. I can hold it."
"No, that one is too large," he said.
Again a small dolphin came near, and the mother shouted, "Spear that."
But he said, "No, it is too large and strong."
At last a huge animal arose quite near, and immediately he threw his
harpoon, taking care to wound but not to kill it, and at the same time
pushing his mother into the water.
"That is because you abused me," he cried, as the white whale dragged
her into the sea.
Whenever she came to the surface to breathe she cried "_Louk! Louk!_"
and gradually she became transformed into a narwhal.
XIII
WHAT THE ESKIMO BELIEVES
HOW MEN WERE CREATED
The first human beings who appeared on the Diomede Islands were a man
and a woman who came down from the sky. These two lived on the island
for a long time, but had no children.
At last the man took some ivory from a walrus and carved out five
images from it. Then he took some wood and carved five more images,
and set all of them aside. The next morning the ten images had turned
into people. Those from the ivory dolls were men, hardy and brave;
those from the wood were women, soft and timid.
From these ten people came the inhabitants of the islands.
THE FLOOD
In the first days that people can remember there was a flood which
covered all the earth except one very high peak in the middle. The
water rose up from the sea and covered all the land except the top of
this mountain, and the only animals that were not drowned were a few
that went up this mountain. A few people escaped by going into their
boats and living on the fish they caught until the water subsided.
After the waters lowered, these people went to live upon the
mountains, and when the land was dry they came down to the coast. The
animals also came down and eventually the earth was refilled with
animals and people.
It was during the flood that the waves and currents of water cut the
land into hollows and ridges. Then the water ran back into the sea
leaving the mountains and valleys as they are today. All the Eskimo
along the northern part of North America have heard their old people
tell of the flood.
* * * * *
There are reindeer which came from the sky and which have teeth like
dogs. They were once common and anyone could see them, but now only
the priests can see them. They live on the plains, and have a large
hole through the body back of the shoulders. If the people, who can
see them, mistake them for common reindeer and shoot at them, the
arrow falls harmless, for no ordinary weapon can kill them.
The Aurora Borealis is a group of boys playing football. Sometimes
they use the skull of a walrus for the ball. The swaying movement of
the lights shows that the players are struggling with each other and
tugging back and forth. If the Aurora fades away and you utter a low
whistle, the boys will come back as if answering to applause.
The Milky Way is the snow that fell from the Raven's snowshoes when he
walked across the sky, during one of his journeys while he was
creating the inhabitants of earth.
* * * * *
From Puget Sound at the northern border of the United States all along
the coast to Bering Strait, both Indians and Eskimo believe that the
eagle, the raven, the goose, and perhaps any bird, can push up its
beak making it the visor of a cap and thus become a man, and that by
pulling it down he can become a bird again.
XIV
THE FIRST MAN
In the time before there were any people on earth, a large pea-vine
was growing on the beach, and in the pod of this pea the first man lay
coiled up for four days. On the fifth day he stretched out his feet
and that bursted the pod. He fell to the ground, where he stood up, a
full-grown man.
He had never seen anything that looked like him, and he did not know
what to make of himself. He looked around, and then at himself; then
he moved his arms and hands and was surprised that he could do it. He
moved his neck and his legs, and examined himself curiously.
Looking back, he saw the pod from which he had fallen still hanging to
the vine, with a hole at the lower end out of which he had dropped. He
went up and looked in through the hole to see if there were any more
like him in the pod. Then he looked about him again, and saw that he
was getting farther away from the place where he started, and that
the ground seemed very soft and moved up and down under his feet.
After a while he had an unpleasant feeling in his stomach, and stooped
down to take water in his mouth from a small pool at his feet. The
water ran down into his stomach and he felt better. When he looked up
again, he saw a big dark object coming through the air with a waving
motion. It came on until it was just in front of him when it stopped
and, standing on the ground, looked at him.
This was a Raven, and as soon as it stopped it raised one of its
wings, pushed up its beak like a mask, to the top of its head, and
changed at once into a man. Before he raised his mask, the Raven had
stared at the Man and now he stared more than ever, moving about from
side to side to obtain a better view. At last he said:
"What are you? Where did you come from? I have never seen anything
like you."
He looked again and said, "You are so much like me in shape that you
surprise me."
Presently he said, "Walk away a few steps so that I may see you more
clearly. I am astonished at you! I have never before seen anything
like you. Where did you come from?"
"I came from the pea-pod," said Man pointing to the plant from which
he came.
"Ah!" exclaimed Raven, "I made that vine, but did not know that
anything like you would ever come out of it. Come with me to the high
ground over there. This ground I made later and it is still soft and
thin, but it is harder and thicker over there." They came to the
higher ground which was firm under their feet.
"Have you eaten anything?" Raven asked Man.
"I took some soft stuff into me at one of the pools," replied Man.
"Ah! you drank water," said Raven. "Now wait for me here."
He drew down the mask over his face, changing again into a bird, and
flew far up into the sky where he disappeared. Man waited where he had
been left until the fourth day, when Raven returned, bringing four
berries. Pushing up his mask, Raven became a man again and held out
two salmonberries and two heathberries.
"Here is what I made for you to eat. I wish them to be plentiful over
the earth. Now eat them."
Man took the berries and placed them in his mouth one after the other,
and they satisfied his hunger which had made him feel uncomfortable.
Raven then led Man to a small creek near by and left him till he went
to the edge of the water and molded two pieces of clay into the form
of a pair of mountain sheep. He held them in his hand till they were
dry and then called Man to show him what he had done.
"Those are very pretty," said Man.
"Close your eyes for a little while," said Raven.
As soon as Man's eyes were closed Raven drew down his mask and waved
his wings four times over the images, when they came to life and
bounded away as full-grown mountain sheep.
Raven then raised his mask and said, "Look! Look quick!" When Man saw
the sheep moving away full of life he cried out with pleasure. Seeing
how pleased he was, Raven said, "If these animals are numerous,
perhaps people will wish very much to get them."
"I think they will," said Man.
"Well, it will be better for them to have their home in the high
cliffs," said Raven, "and there only shall they be found, so that
everyone cannot kill them."
Then Raven made two animals of clay and gave them life when they were
dry only in spots; and they remained brown and white, and were the
tame reindeer with mottled coats.
"Those are very handsome," exclaimed Man, admiring them.
"Yes, but there will not be many of these," said Raven.
Then he made a pair of wild reindeer and let them get dry only on
their bellies before giving them life; and to this day the belly of
the wild reindeer is the only white part about it.
"These animals will be very common and people will kill many of them,"
said Raven.
XV
THE FIRST WOMAN
"You will be very lonely by yourself," said Raven to Man one day. "I
will make you a companion."
He went to a spot some distance from where he had made the animals,
and, looking now and then at Man as an artist looks at his model, he
made an image very much like Man. He took from the creek some fine
water grass and fastened it on the back of the head for hair. After
the image had dried in his hands, he waved his wings over it as he had
done with all the live things, and it came to life and stood beside
Man, a beautiful young woman.
"There is a companion for you!" cried Raven. "Now come with me to this
knoll over here."
In those days there were no mountains far or near, and the sun never
ceased to shine brightly. No rain ever fell and no winds blew. When
they came to the knoll Raven found a patch of long, dry moss and
showed the pair how to make a bed in it, and they slept very warmly.
Raven drew down his mask and slept near by in the form of a bird.
Wakening before the others, Raven went to the creek and made three
pairs of fishes: sticklebacks, graylings, and blackfish. When they
were swimming about in the water, he called to Man, "Come and see what
I have made."
When Man saw the sticklebacks swimming up the stream with a wriggling
motion, he was so surprised that he raised his hands suddenly and the
fish darted away.
"Look at these graylings," said Raven; "they will be found in clear
mountain streams, while the sticklebacks are already on their way to
the sea. Both are good for food; so, whether you live beside the water
or in the upland, you may find plenty to eat."
He looked about and thought there was nothing on the land as lively as
the fish in the water, so he made the shrew-mice, for he said, "They
will skip about and enliven the ground and prevent it from looking
dead and barren, even if they are not good for food."
He kept on for several days making other animals, more fishes, and a
few ground birds, for as yet there were no trees for birds to alight
in. Every time he made anything he explained to Man what it was and
what it would do.
After this he flew away to the sky and was gone four days, when he
returned bringing a salmon for Man and his wife. He thought that the
ponds and lakes seemed silent and lonely, so he made insects to fly
over their surfaces, and muskrats and beavers to swim about near their
borders. At that time the mosquito did not bite as it does now, and he
said to Man:
"I made these flying creatures to enliven the world and make it
cheerful. The skin of this muskrat you are to use for clothing. The
beaver is very cunning and only good hunters can catch it. It will
live in the streams and build strong houses, and you must follow its
example and build a house."
When a child was born, Raven and Man took it to the creek and rubbed
it with clay, and carried it back to the stopping-place on the knoll.
The next morning the child was running about pulling up grass and
other plants which Raven had caused to grow near by. On the third day
the child became a full-grown man.
Raven one day went to the creek and made a bear, and gave it life; but
he jumped aside very quickly when the bear stood up and looked
fiercely about. He had thought there ought to be some animal of which
Man would be afraid, and now he was almost afraid of the bear himself.
"You would better keep away from that animal," he said. "It is very
fierce and will tear you to pieces if you disturb it."
He made various kinds of seals, and said to Man, "You are to eat these
and to take their skins for clothing. Cut some of the skins into
strips and make snares to catch deer. But you must not snare deer yet;
wait until they are more numerous."
By and by another child was born, and the Man and Woman rubbed it with
clay as Raven had taught them to do, and the next day the little girl
walked about. On the third day she was a full-grown woman, for in
those days people grew up very fast, so that the earth would be
peopled.
XVI
OTHER MEN
Raven went back to the pea-vine and there he found that three other
men had just fallen from the pod out of which the first one had
dropped. These men, like the first, were looking about in wonder not
knowing what to make of themselves and the world about them.
"Come with me," said Raven; and he led them away in an opposite
direction from the one in which he had led the first Man, and brought
them to solid land close to the sea. "Stop here, and I will teach you
what to do and how to live," said he.
He caused some small trees and bushes to grow on the hillside and in
the hollows, and he took a piece of wood from one of these, and a
cord, and made a bow and showed them how to shoot game for food. Then
he taught them to make a fire with a fire-drill. He made plants, and
gulls, and loons, and other birds such as fly about on the seacoast.
Then he made three clay images somewhat resembling the men, and waved
his wings over them and brought them to life, and led each one of
these women to one of the men, and then led each pair to a dry bank,
and had three families started on three hilltops.
"Go down to the shore," he said to the three men and the three women,
"and bring up the logs that the tide has brought in, and I will show
you how to make houses."
They brought the drift logs, and he showed them how to lay them up for
walls, and how to make a roof of branches covered with earth. Seals
had now become numerous, and he taught them how to capture them, and
what use to make of their skins. He helped them to make arrows and
spears, and nets to capture deer and fish, and other implements of the
chase. He showed them how to make kayaks by stretching green hides
over a framework of ribs, and letting the hides dry.
"I have not made as many birds and animals for you as I made for First
Man and his wife, but I have made you so many more plants and trees
that it isn't quite fair to him. I must go back and fix up his land a
bit," said Raven.
So he went over to where First Man and his children were living, and
told them all he had done for the three men who had come out of the
pea-pod, and how well he had them fixed up.
"I must have you live as well as they do," he said. "Your land looks
rather barren, and you have no houses."
That night while the people slept he caused birch, spruce, and
cottonwood trees to spring up in the low places, and when the people
awoke in the morning they clapped their hands in delight, for the
birds were singing in the tree-tops and the green leaves with the
sunlight flickering through them made it seem like a fairy land. And
they were delighted with the shade of the trees in which they could
sit and watch the quivering lights and shadows which the fluttering of
the leaves made.
Then Raven taught these people how to build houses out of the trees
and bushes, and how to make fire with a fire-drill, and to place the
spark of tinder in a bunch of dry grass and wave it about until it
blazed, and then put dry wood upon it. He showed them how to put a
stick through their fish and hold it in the fire, till it was a
thousand times more delicious than when raw. He took willow twigs and
strips of willow bark, and made traps for catching fish; and, best of
all, he taught them to look out for the future, by catching more
salmon than they needed, when salmon were running, and drying them for
use when they could catch none.
"Now you are pretty well fixed," he said one day; "it will take you
some time to practice on all the things I have taught you; so I will
go back and see how my coast men are coming on."
XVII
MAN'S FIRST GRIEF
After Raven had gone, Man and his son went down to the sea to try some
of the ways they had been taught. They made rather bad work of it, but
the son caught a seal and held it. They tried to kill it with their
hands, but couldn't do it until, finally, the son struck it a hard
blow on the head with his fist. Then the father took off the skin with
his hands alone, and tore it into strips which they dried. With these
strips they set snares for reindeer.
When they went to look at the snare next morning, they found the cords
bitten in two; for in those days the reindeer had sharp teeth like
dogs. They stood looking at the ruined snare for a few minutes, and
then the son said:
"Let us go farther down along the deer trail and dig a pit and set our
snare just at the first edge of the pit, with a heavy stone fastened
in it. Then when the deer puts his head in the snare the stone will
fall down into the pit and drag the deer's head down and hold it."
Next morning when they went to the woods and down the reindeer trail
they found a deer entangled in the snare. Taking it out, they killed
and skinned it, carrying the skin home for a bed.
The women cried, "Oh, let us hold some of the flesh in the fire as we
did the fish!" And of course they found it good.
* * * * *
One day Man went out alone hunting seal along the seashore. There were
many seals out of the water sunning themselves on the rocks. He crept
up to them cautiously, but just as he thought he had his hands on
them, one after another slipped into the water. Only one was left on
the rocks. Now you will not wonder at what happened, if you remember
that, although Man was full-grown, he was still quite young, for he
had become a man so suddenly. Only one seal was left on the rocks, and
Man was very hungry. He crept up to it more cautiously than before,
but it slipped through his fingers and escaped.
Then Man stood up and his breast seemed full of a strange feeling, and
water began to run in drops from his eyes and down his face. He put up
his hand and caught some of the drops to look at them and found that
they were really water. Then, without any wish on his part, loud cries
began to break from him, and the tears ran down his face as he went
homeward.
When his son saw him coming he called to his wife and mother to see
Man coming along making such a strange noise. When he reached them
they were still more surprised to see water running down his face.
After he told them the story of his disappointment about the seals,
they were all stricken with the same ailment and began to wail with
him,--and in this way people first learned to cry.
A while after this the son killed another seal and they made more
reindeer snares from its hide. When the deer caught this time was
brought home, Man told his people to take a splint bone from its
foreleg and to drill a hole in the large end of it. Into this they put
strands of sinew from the deer and sewed skins to keep their bodies
warm when winter came, for Raven had told them to do this; and the
fresh skins shaped themselves to their bodies and dried on them.
Man then showed his son how to make bows and arrows and to tip the
arrows with points of horn for killing deer. With these the son shot
his first deer, which was easier than snaring them. After he had cut
up this deer, he placed its fat upon a bush and then fell asleep. When
he awoke he was very angry to find that the mosquitoes had eaten all
of it. Until this time mosquitoes had never bitten people; but Man
scolded them for what they had done, and said: "Never eat our meat
again; eat men," and since that day mosquitoes have always bitten
people.
Where First Man lived there had now grown a large village, for the
people did everything as Raven had directed, and as soon as a child
was born it was rubbed with clay and thus grew to its full stature in
three days.
XVIII
UP TO THE TOP OF THE SKY, AND DOWN TO THE BOTTOM OF THE SEA
One day Raven came back and, sitting beside Man, talked of many things
as if they were brothers. After a little Man said, "I understand that
you have made a land in the sky."
"Yes, I have a fine land there," answered Raven. "I made that land
with all its people and animals, before I made this one."
"I wish you would take me to see it," said Man.
"Very well, I will do so," replied Raven.
They started toward the sky, where they arrived in a short time, and
Man found himself in a beautiful country with a climate much better
than that on earth; but the people who lived there were very small.
When they stood beside Man, their heads reached only to his hips. As
they walked along, Man looked about and saw many animals that were
strange to him, and noticed that the country was much finer than the
one he had left.
The people living there wore handsome fur garments nicely made and
embroidered with ornamental patterns such as people on earth now wear.
Man got the patterns, and when he came back to earth he showed his
people how to make the handsome garments; and the patterns have been
retained ever since.
After a time they came to a large house and went in. A very old man
came from the place of honor opposite the door at the head of the room
to welcome them.
"This is the first man I made in the sky land," said Raven, explaining
why the man seemed so old.
The old man called to his people: "We have here a guest from the lower
land, who is a friend of mine. Bring food to refresh him after his
travels."
They brought boiled food of a more delicious kind than Man had ever
tasted.
"That is the flesh of the spotted reindeer and the sheep that live in
these mountains," said Raven. "When you have finished your meal we
will go on to see other things that I have made. But you must not
attempt to drink from any of the lakes we may pass, for in them are
animals which would seize and kill anyone from the lower land."
On the way they came to a dry lake bed in which tall grass was growing
very thickly, and lying on the very tips of the grass was a large
animal, yet the grass did not bend with the weight. It was a
strange-looking animal with a long head and six legs, the two hind
ones unusually large; the forelegs short; and a small pair under its
belly. The hair around the feet was very long, but all over the body
there was fine, thick hair. From the back of the head grew short,
thick horns which extended forward and curved back at the tips. The
animal had small eyes, and was of darkish color, almost black.