After he had made a house of hemlock boughs he shot all kinds of birds there. By and by a bufflehead came and ate of the whale. He then wanted it. And he aimed just above the top of its head. When it flew it struck its head. He then skinned it and entered [the skin]. And he wished for a heavy swell, and it became rough, and he walked toward the water. And when a wave came toward him he quickly dived under it. After he had done the same thing repeatedly he flopped up from the water, took the skin off, and dried it in his branch house. He thus came to own it, they say. He kept it in the fork of a tree.
After he had shot there all kinds of birds something blue and slender came and ate of it. It flew down from above. It ate sitting upon it. He then shot it. He shot [only] through its wings. He (Raven) was sad. And on the next day, early in the morning, he entered his branch house. After he had sat there for a while it again came down from above, making a noise as it came. And after it stood upon it and had begun to eat he shot it. The arrow again passed quickly through its wings. His mind was sad.
And on the next day, very early in the morning, he again went into the branch house. It came by and by and ate. And he now shot over it. As it started to fly it was struck in the head. He then went down to get it. He brought it into the branch house.
When he had skinned it, he entered it. He then flew up. After he had flown for a while he turned quickly and came down. He then ran his beak into a rocky point at the end of the town. At the same time he cried out: “G̣ao” (Raven’s croak). Though the rock was strong, he split it by his voice. After he had dried it in the branch house he put it where he kept the bufflehead.
He then started off, they say. He went in and sat down by the side of his mother. By and by his aunt said to her husband: “Why do you remain seated so long? Go and hunt,” she said to him. And they brought out a war spear and a box of arrows, and they put pitch on [the cord wound round the arrow point] for him. And at midnight he went off in a canoe, and his place was vacant in the morning.
He (Raven) then went out and stood up out of himself (i.e., changed himself). He put on two sky blankets and painted his face. And, as soon as he entered, his uncle’s wife turned her head. He went around behind the screens. And, after some time had passed, it thundered on the underground side of the island.
And her husband came back and asked his wife: “My child’s mother, what noise was that, sounding like the one that is heard when I go to [[122]]bed with you?” And she laughed and said: “Why, I guess I am the same with Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i, your nephew.”
On the next day, early in the morning, Great-breakers sat in the place where the fire was. On the top of the chief’s hat (dadjî′ñ skîl) that he wore a round fleck of foam swirled rapidly. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas-łîña′-i began to look around. And he went out, got his two skins, put on his two sky blankets, and came in. His uncle had his hair tied in two braids. Something on his head began turning around very rapidly.
Then a strong current of sea water poured from the corner of the house. And he put his mother in his armpit, quickly entered his bufflehead skin, and swam about in the current. He dived many times and again swam about. And when the sea water came up to the roof of the house he floated out with it through the smoke hole.
He then quickly entered the raven’s skin. He at once flew up. He then ran his beak into the sky. And his tail was afloat on the water. Then he kicked against the water. “Enough. You, too, belong to me.” There it stopped (lit., “came to a point”). It began to melt downward.