Raven said, “I have an arrowhead which pierced my heart in an old war. That is why I fell behind.” Raven’s wife put her hand on his breast. She could feel it beating like a hammer; she said she could not feel an arrowhead.
So the geese rose again from the water. They flapped slowly along. But Raven’s wings were very tired. Before long he fell behind again. Again the geese waited for him.
Then the Geese Brothers began to talk among themselves. They said, “We do not believe he has an arrowhead in his heart. How could he live?”
Now this last time when they rested, they could see the far-off shore. Father Goose said to Raven, “We will not wait for you again. We will not rest again until we reach the shore.”
So the geese rose from the water and flapped slowly along. Raven’s wings seemed very heavy. The geese flew nearer and nearer the shore; but Raven flew nearer and nearer the waves. As he came close to the water he shrieked to his wife, “Leave me the white stone. Throw the white stone back to me.” It was a magic stone. Thus Raven cried. Then he sank down into the water, but the geese had reached the land.
Raven tried to rise from the water. His wings would not spread. Raven drifted back and forth with the waves. The white caps of the surf buried him. Only once in a while could he get his beak above the water to breathe. Then a great wave cast him on the shore. Then he struggled up the beach. He reached some bushes where he pushed up his beak. Thus he became a small, dark-colored man. Then he took off his raven coat and mask. He hung them on a bush to dry. Raven made a fire drill out of dry wood and made a fire. Thus he dried himself.
RAVEN AND THE SEALS
Tsimshian
AS Raven travelled along, he came to a house where a man lived near the edge of the water. Raven said to him, “I will be your friend.”