Note 104 — Raven Traveling

When Beaver went out in order to fish in his lake he found that it was gone, and he saw Raven sitting on a tree, holding the water. Then Beaver called the monster Tā′ʟat’adᴇga,104 which has a long body, a long tail, and many legs; and he called all the beavers and the bears and asked them to throw the tree down. The wolves dug up its roots, the beavers gnawed the trunk of the tree, and all the animals tried to do what was in their power. Finally the tree fell. Then Raven flew off to another tree. They tried to throw this tree down. All the animals of the forest helped Beaver. After they had thrown down four trees they asked a favor of Raven: “Please give us our chief’s water. Don’t make us unhappy!” But he did not comply with their request. He flew away, and spit some of the water on the ground as he flew along. Thus originated all the rivers on Queen Charlotte islands. He also made the Skeena and Stikine rivers.