That time he went away for a long period. By and by they saw him floating on the sea in front of the town in a hair-seal canoe.[41] He wore his uncle’s hat. On top of it the foam was swirling around as he floated. As soon as they saw he had become changed in some unknown manner the town people all entered Qîñgi’s house. And after they had talked over what they should do for a while he dressed himself up. The town people put themselves between the joints of his tall hat. After Nᴀñkî′lsʟas had remained there a while the sea water continued to increase. And Qîñgi, too, grew up. Then he became angry and broke the hat by pulling it downward. Half the people of his town were lost.
After he had been gone for a while he came and stopped in front of the town. “Nᴀñkî′lsʟas is in front on a canoe.” And his father said: “Go and get him that I may see his face.” They then spread out mats, and his comrades came in and sat there. His father continually gave him food. His father was glad to see him.
After food had been given out for a long time and evening was come, his father sat down near the door. By and by he said: “My son, chief’s child, let one of your companions tell me a story.” He then asked the one who sat next to him: “Don’t you know a story?”[42] “No,” they all said, and he turned in the other direction also. “Don’t you know one story?” “No; we do not.” He then said to his father: “They do not know any stories.” And his father, Qîñgi, said, “Ītꜝē′i, let one of your companions relate to me ‘Raven traveling,’ ” by which he made Nᴀñkî′lsʟas so ashamed that he hung his head.
By and by, lo, a small, dark person, who sat on the right side, threw himself backward where he sat. “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the village of the master of stories, Qîñgi.” When he said this the people in the house were [startled], as if something were thrown down violently. “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings came to look at a ten-jointed łqeā′ma[43] growing in front of the village of the master of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings came and looked at a rainbow[44] (a story name) moving up and down in front of the village of the master of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed [said the next].” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural [[125]]beings once came to look at Greatest-sea-gull and Greatest-white-crested-cormorant throw a whale’s tail back and forth on a reef that first came up in front of Qîñgi’s town. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings came to see Harlequin-duck and Blue-jay run a race with each other on the property of the master of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings once came to look at the lower section of a wooden rattle lying around which used to sing of itself.[45] There they were lost.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings once came to look at an inlet, which broke suddenly through white rocks at the end of Qîñgi’s town, out of which Djila′qons came knitting. There they were destroyed.” “Ya-yā′-ō-ō-ō-ō-ō, the supernatural beings once came to see Tā′dᴀlᴀt-g̣ā′dᴀla and Marten run a race with each other in front of the village of the master of stories, Qîñgi. There they were destroyed.” [What the other three said has been forgotten.[46]]
Then Nᴀñkî′lsʟas started off afoot. After he had traveled for a while he came to the town of Ku′ndji. In front of it many canoes floated. They were fishing for flounders.[47] They used for bait salmon roe that had been put up in boxes. He then desired some, and changed himself into a flounder. And he went out. After he had been stealing the salmon roe for a while they pulled out his beak.
Those people, who then sat gambling in rows in the town, looked at the beak one after another. They handed it back and forth for the purpose. Nᴀñkî′lsʟas looked at it, and said: “It is made of salmon roe.” He then went toward the woods and called Screech-owl. And he pulled its beak out, put it upon himself, and put some common thing into [the owl] in its stead.
By and by they went out again to fish and again he went out. And after he had jerked off many pieces of salmon roe a hook entered one of his lips. They then pulled him to the surface and came ashore, and [the owner] gave it to his child, and they ran a stick through it [to put it over the fire]. And when his back became too warm he thought: “I wish something would make them run over toward the end of the town.” After some time had passed the whole town (i.e., the people of the town) suddenly moved. And right before the child, who sat alone near by, he put on his feather clothing and flew out through the smoke hole. The child then called to its mother: “My food flew away, mother.”
He did not go away from the town, they say. On another day they prepared some food in the morning. Crow invited the people to a feast of cakes made of the inner bark of the hemlock and cranberries mixed together. Among them they called him (Raven). And he refused. “No; you only call each other for mussels.” Afterward he sent Eagle out to see what they did call each other for. And after [[126]]he had gone thither he said to him: “They call each other for cakes of hemlock bark and cranberries.” “Now, cousin, be my messenger.” Eagle then said: “The chief is coming.” “No; we call each other for mussels.”
Before they had begun eating he ran into the woods. After he had made rotten trees into ten canoes he put in spruce cones, standing them up along the middle. Grass tops he put into their hands for spears. They then came around the point, and he walked near them with his blanket wrapped tightly around him. Terrible to behold, they came around the point, men standing in lines along the middle of the canoes. Leaving their food, the people fled at once. He then went into the house and ate the cakes. He ate. He ate. Where the canoes landed they were washed about by the waves.
He then started off. He traveled about. On the way he got his sister neatly, they say. He then left his sister with his wife. And he started off by canoe. He begged Snowbird[48] to go along with him, and took him for company. He also took along a spear. And short objects[49] lay one upon another on a certain reef. Then, when they came near to it, the bird became different.[50] He took him back. And he begged Blue-jay also to go, and he started with him. But when they got near he, too, flapped his wings helplessly in the canoe. And, after he had tried all creatures in vain, he made a drawing on a toadstool with a stick, placed it in the stern, and said to it: “Bestir yourself and reverse the stroke” [to stop the canoe]. He then started off with him. But when he got near it shook its head [so strong was the influence].