Raven said, “Let it get dry all around the world.”
After a while, Eagle said, “The tide is very low now. You can hardly see any water.”
Raven said, “Let it get still drier.”
At last everything was dry. This is the lowest tide there ever was. All the salmon, and whales, and seals lay on the sands because the water was so low. Then the people killed them for food. They had enough food to last them a long time.
When the tide began to rise again, the people were frightened. They feared there would be another flood, so they carried their food back a long distance.
Afterward Raven returned to Nass River and found that people there had not changed their ways. They were dancing and feasting. They asked Raven to join them.
THE ORIGIN OF THE TIDES
Tsetsaut
A LONG time ago, a man wandered down the Nass River. Wherever he camped, he made rocks of curious shapes. Now his name was Qa, the Raven. The Tlingit call him Yel.