5. Big-Raven and the Kamaks.

Raven-Big said, "I will slide down hill." [He slid down hill.] He went and found a mountain, which was the largest of all. From that mountain he slid down, and rolled into the porch of the house of the kamaks ¹. There he came in. Small kamaks went to the porch, and said, "Oh, human game has come to us of its own free will!"--"I am not human game, I am a man." They took him into the house, and began to eat his body joint by joint. Still he was alive. They consumed Big-Raven. Then he carne home, because he was a shaman.

He recovered his senses, and said to his wife, "Cook

p. 43

some soup for me!" She cooked some soup, and he ate all alone a large kettleful. Then he said to Miti', "Bring the big hammer! ¹" She gave him the hammer, and he swallowed it. He arrived at to the house of some kamaks, and vomited through the vent-hole. (He filled the whole house) and made them climb upward. The big kamak was standing in the middle of the house. Big-Raven struck him with the hammer. He killed him. Big-Raven came home. That is all.

Footnotes

42:1 Evil spirit (cf. W. Jochelson, The Koryak, l. c., p. 27).

43:1 A large stone hammer with a narrow groove for hafting.