he said, "I will be Owl. Then I will be safe." At once he became a
beautiful white Owl. With slow, noiseless wing he flew toward the
north, stopping now and then to catch and eat a mouse. After a long
flight, he came in sight of Sledge Island. Owl thought he would go
there. When far out at sea, he became very tired. He could hardly
reach the shore.
As he rested on a piece of driftwood on the sand, two men passed along
the shore. Owl thought for a while. Then he said, "I will be a Man."
At once he became a fine-looking young man, but he had no clothing.
Night came on and the air became cool. Man sat down with his back
against the piece of driftwood and slept there until morning. When the
sun arose he awakened. He felt lame and stiff from the cold night air.
Looking about him, Man found some grass which he wove into a loose
robe, which helped to keep out the cold. Suddenly he saw reindeer near
him. He crept on hands and knees close to one, seized it by the horns
and broke its neck with a single effort. He carried the reindeer on
his back to his sleeping place. He felt all over the reindeer's body
but its skin was too thick for his fingers to break an opening. For a
long time he thought. Then he saw near him a sharp-edged stone. He
picked it up and found he could cut the skin with it. So Man skinned
the deer. But he had no fire with which to cook it. Looking around, he
saw two round white stones upon the beach. Striking them together, he
saw they gave out sparks. He then found some dry wood and scraped off
bits. With the wood and the stones he made a fire, and roasted some of
the meat.
Man tried to swallow a large piece of meat, as he had done when he was
Owl, but he could not do it. He had to cut it with the sharp-edged
stone into smaller pieces.
The next day he killed another reindeer and skinned it. And the next
day another. Then the nights became so cold he wrapped the skins upon
him. When they dried, they became as part of his body. But the nights
became still colder, and the days were colder. Then Chunuhluk, the
man, found some driftwood and made a rough hut.
After finishing his hut, Chunuhluk was walking over the hills one day
when he met a strange black beast among the blueberry bushes.
Chunuhluk did not know what to do, but at last he caught it by the
hind legs. The black thing turned around with a growl and showed its
white teeth. Chunuhluk quickly caught the bear by the heavy hair and
threw it to the ground so it lay quiet. Then he killed it. Then he
threw it across his shoulders and went home. Then he skinned it.
When Chunuhluk skinned the bear, he found it had much fat. He thought
it might burn. His hut was very dark. So he went along the beach until
he found a flat stone with a small hollow in it. He put the oil from
the fat in this; then he put in a bit of dry moss and set the end of
the moss on fire. Then his hut was lighted very well.
Chunuhluk also hung the bearskin in the opening of the door to keep
out the cold. So he lived many days.
But at last Chunuhluk became lonely. Then he remembered the two men
who had passed him when he was Owl. He went in search of people. At
last he found two new kayaks at the foot of a hill, with spears,
lines, floats, and other hunting implements. Then he saw a path
nearby. On the top was a house. On the ground around were several dead
white whales. Chunuhluk crept cautiously into the entrance way and up
to the door. He lifted the corner of a skin and saw a young man
working on some arrows. He stepped in very quietly. The young man
raised a bow and arrow to shoot, but Chunuhluk said, "I have come,
brother."
The young man said gladly, "Are you my brother? Come and sit beside
me."
At first the young man was very glad. He taught Chunuhluk all things.
Then at last he became jealous of him. Then Chunuhluk became scornful.
He said one day, "You cannot kill anything without a bow and arrow. I
can kill with my hands alone." Then the brother became still more
angry.
One day both were out on the water in their kayaks. The young man
said, "Now let us see who can gain the shore first." They both reached
the beach at the same time. Then the young man said, "You are no more
my brother. You go in that direction and I will go in this." So they
parted angrily. As they went, Chunuhluk turned into Wolverine and his
brother became Gray Wolf. To this day they wander in the same country,
but never together.
THE WIND PEOPLE
_Koryak_ (_Siberia_)
It was at a time when the Creator lived. Once a violent snowstorm
broke out and it blew incessantly. Creator got ready to go to Wind
Man's village to find out why the storm raged so constantly. He took a
skin boat instead of a sledge. He hitched to it mice instead of
reindeer. Then he started.
He came to the village of the Wind People. All the people surrounded
him and laughed at his sledge and reindeer. "How will you carry off
our presents on such reindeer?" they asked.
Creator said, "Just put them into the boat and never mind how I carry
them off."
The Wind People took out all the food and clothes they had and loaded
the skin boat heaping full. Creator drove back his mice which dragged
the loaded skin boat home. Then he returned to the village of the Wind
People. They loaded his skin boat again and he carried off everything
they had. Then Creator's mice gnawed the straps off all the sledges
and harness of the Wind People. Thus the Wind People could not drive
any more and the snowstorm ceased. That's all.
TRICKS OF THE FOX
_Koryak_ (_Siberia_)
One day Fox said to his children, "I am going to get some eggs." He
went to the woods and saw Eagle's nest high up in a tree. He put some
grass stalks into his ears, knocked with them on the tree, and said to
Eagle, "Throw me down an egg. If you don't, I will knock the tree over
with these stalks and break it."
Eagle became frightened and threw down an egg.
"Throw down another," said Fox.
"That's enough," said Eagle. "I will not throw down any more."
Fox said, "Throw it down. If I knock down the tree, I'll take them
all."
Eagle was frightened and threw down another egg. Then Fox laughed and
said, "I fooled you nicely. How could I have knocked down a whole tree
with these small grass stalks?"
Eagle became angry. He threw himself upon Fox, grasped him with his
talons, lifted him high in the air, flew far out to sea and threw him
down upon a lonely island.
Fox remained on that island. He lived there and thought to himself,
"Am I really going to die on this island?"
Fox began to sing shamans' songs. Seals, walrus, and whales appeared
near the island. "What are you singing about?" they asked Fox.
"This is what I was singing about," said Fox. "Are there more animals
in the waters of the sea or on the dry land?"
"Certainly there are more in the waters of the sea," so the Sea People
replied.
"Well, let us see," said Fox. "Come up to the surface of the water and
form a raft from this island to the land. Then I will take a walk over
you and count you all."
The Sea People all came up to the surface of the water and formed a
raft. Fox ran over their backs, pretending to count them. But as soon
as he reached land, he jumped ashore and went home. That's all.
THE END
Transcriber's Note
Variations in spelling are preserved as printed.
The following amendments have been made:
Frontispiece caption--Tinglit amended to Tlingit--Tlingit
Indians in Dancing Costume
Page xiii--Tinglit amended to Tlingit--Tlingit Indians in
Dancing Costume
Page 19--beak-mast amended to beak-mask--Then Raven pulled down
his beak-mask, ...
The frontispiece illustration has been moved to follow the title page.
Other illustrations have been moved where necessary so that they are
not in the middle of a paragraph.