MYTHS AND LEGENDS OF
ORIGIN OF HAIDA LAND
BEFORE the days of the grandfathers there was nothing but water. All was water, except a single reef. Here lived the supernatural beings. They were much crowded. They all lay heaped together. Then Raven flew all about trying to get a footing, but he could alight nowhere.
Then Raven looked at the sky. It was solid. It was very beautiful and Raven was fascinated by it. He said, "I'll go up there," so he ran his beak into the sky and climbed up.
Now in the Sky Land was a large town. The chief lived there and in the chief's house was a baby. When night came, Raven took the baby by the heel and shook all his bones out. Then he crept into the skin and pretended to be the baby. But at night he stole out of the baby's skin and became Raven. He flew into all the houses and made much mischief. Then at last a woman saw him and told all the people.
Then the chief called all the people together and they sang a song for Raven. It was a magic song, and
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