This page has been validated.
Boas]
Kutenai Tales
241

Raven transformed himself into a raven. He became a real raven. | He took hold of Skunk's musk bag with his bill. Then he flew away, || because he had become a real raven, therefore he could fly. | Skunk 210 noticed the flapping of the wings of Raven, and said: | "Oh!" He pulled in his bow quickly. His musk bag was gone. | Then he cried, and said: "(?) . . . chief, | chief !" for his power || had been taken 215 away from him; therefore he cried. He said (to himself): | "You always make too much noise about your ears. Now, listen whether | the sky will make noise !" Then Skunk listened. | He noticed that Raven went right up. | Then it came down making a noise. Then the noise stopped. || He said: "There, farther along, I walk about. 220 Here, on this side, | went down the noise from the sky." Skunk was lying there. He took | his knife and cut off his leg. He pushed it out. I Because the hole was small, he could not get out. Therefore he did so. He cut off | his leg. He pushed it out. He also cut off the other one and || pushed it out. He cut off his arm and put it out, 225

too. I Now there was one arm left. He cut it off, and it rolled out. Then | all his limbs were gone. He sang, and said: |

"Let my back roll out, |
Let my back roll out." ||

Then his back rolled out. Then he rolled out. | He rolled himself 230

on his one arm. He took | the other one and stuck it on. He took his leg, and he | stuck on both of them. Then Skunk arose. Then | Skunk stood up. He was bad. He had no entrails. || Then he 235 went and took leaves and put them in. Then he was almost good. | He started to the place where Raven had flown, there across the mountains.[1] | He went along. He went across the mountains, and he went along the prairie. | Far away he came to a town. When Raven had arrived, | he had transformed himself into a man. Then he said: || I have brought with me Skunk's musk bag. Then 240 they were all | glad. They said: "Now Skunk will | no longer kill everything. He has no musk bag." Then | they played with it. They played with it for a long time. | Then Skunk came. A man was seen coming along. He was told: || "Who are you?" Skunk said: 245 "I come from that prairie | over there. I am named | Coming-from-the-Prairie-far-away-with-Head-washed- with-White-Clay-carrying-my-Bow-Sideways." He was told: "Over there is the tent | of the chief. His name is Raven. He just came | to this town and brought Skunk's musk bag. Now, || there is also a chief named Grizzly 250

Bear." There were two chiefs | in this town. Skunk went to Raven's


  1. Through Crow's Nest Pass.
85543°—Bull. 59—18——16