d see how my coast men are coming on."

XVII

MAN'S FIRST GRIEF

After Raven had gone, Man and his son went down to the sea to try some
of the ways they had been taught. They made rather bad work of it, but
the son caught a seal and held it. They tried to kill it with their
hands, but couldn't do it until, finally, the son struck it a hard
blow on the head with his fist. Then the father took off the skin with
his hands alone, and tore it into strips which they dried. With these
strips they set snares for reindeer.

When they went to look at the snare next morning, they found the cords
bitten in two; for in those days the reindeer had sharp teeth like
dogs. They stood looking at the ruined snare for a few minutes, and
then the son said:

"Let us go farther down along the deer trail and dig a pit and set our
snare just at the first edge of the pit, with a heavy stone fastened
in it. Then when the deer puts his head in the snare the stone will
fall down into the pit and drag the deer's head down and hold it."

Next morning when they went to the woods and down the reindeer trail
they found a deer entangled in the snare. Taking it out, they killed
and skinned it, carrying the skin home for a bed.

The women cried, "Oh, let us hold some of the flesh in the fire as we
did the fish!" And of course they found it good.

* * * * *

One day Man went out alone hunting seal along the seashore. There were
many seals out of the water sunning themselves on the rocks. He crept
up to them cautiously, but just as he thought he had his hands on
them, one after another slipped into the water. Only one was left on
the rocks. Now you will not wonder at what happened, if you remember
that, although Man was full-grown, he was still quite young, for he
had become a man so suddenly. Only one seal was left on the rocks, and
Man was very hungry. He crept up to it more cautiously than before,
but it slipped through his fingers and escaped.

Then Man stood up and his breast seemed full of a strange feeling, and
water began to run in drops from his eyes and down his face. He put up
his hand and caught some of the drops to look at them and found that
they were really water. Then, without any wish on his part, loud cries
began to break from him, and the tears ran down his face as he went
homeward.

When his son saw him coming he called to his wife and mother to see
Man coming along making such a strang