![Yup'ik Raven Yup'ik Raven](http://ankn.uaf.edu/Resources/file.php/16/yupik.gif)
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The Great Flood - From S.E. Alaska:The Great
Flood
The rock formations of Cape Felix on Sumez Island on the west coast of Prince of Wales Island, are symmetrical and beautiful to look at. At one place there is an opening in the rocks that looks as though someone lived there. This was the case in ancient times. Raven lived there. This story of Raven centers around the flood of ancient times. Raven had lived here for many years. Everything was handy to his needs. He had many close friends. But there came a time when everything changed. A day dawned when the scope of things didn't seem right. Raven sensed it right away. He told Sea Otter. It was an unusually warm day. The low tide had gone beyond the limits. Now the incoming tide started coming fast. Raven alerted his friend the sea otter. Things didn't seem right. He told the sea otter to watch out for himself. He, the Raven, would fly. The great flood had come. Only the highest mountain was not covered. It was here that Raven rested. The sea otter was not far off. As the tide receded they could see that everything was devastated. There was not a tree left. Raven made preparations to straighten things out. He asked the sea otter for advice. The sea otter told him of a beautiful island far out at sea. This island was controlled by an island spirit and probably had survived the flood. This is the island they called Forrester Island. Raven flew out there and found the island intact. The sea otter also swam out and met up with his own kind and other friends. Everything was the same as usual. The Spirit of the Island welcomed the visitors and made them feel at home. Raven told the Spirit of the Island what had happened. Since Raven was planning so well to rehabilitate the devastated land the spirit of Forrester Island promised help in the form of material things such as water, tree cone seeds, seeds, muskeg and so forth. First, Raven made a large watertight basket. He filled this with water and flew with it back to his old home. He sprinkled the water all over the island and freshened the soil, and creeks began to flow again. He next went back after seeds and sowed them all over. Then he began working on the plants. On his return trip he scooped up a large chunk of muskeg and took it to the other islands. The place where he scooped up the muskeg on Forrester Island is still seen today as a hollow on top of Forrester Island. The whole top of the island is muskeg and the hollow is on the south end of the island. His final effort was a masterpiece. He filled up his basket with tree cones and flew all over scattering the cones. This is why the islands are full of beautiful great trees today. All this time, the sea otter was also busy. He urged his friends, the sea mammals to move back, which they did. Also, the birds moved back. Things went back to normal. Thanks to Raven, thanks to sea otter, the island country was saved. Robert and Nora Cogo ![]() | |
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