V
*• °H)rivn k ■
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THE STORY TELLER.
rom a Carving by W. S. Phillips.
Indian Fairy Tales
FOLKL ORE— LEGENDS— MYTHS
TOTEM TALES
As Told by the Indians
GATHERED IN THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST
by
W. S. Phillips
With a Glossary of Words, Customs and History
of the Indians
FULLY ILLUSTRATED BY THE AUTHOR
CHICAGO
STAR PUBLISHING CO.
Copyright 1902
BY
HKANK B. DAVIS
*c\<L
GENERA
DEDICATION.
There are two wee tots of few summers not far from
where I write who have listened to the tales of the
Talking Pine with silent interest and wonderment.
Their eyes grow big, and bigger as they listen to the
wonderful doings of the strange characters of which I
write, and Avhen the story is finished they climb up in
my lap and two tiny heads covered with curls, that
shine like1 the flecks of gold among the mountain river
sands, nestle close to me and baby arms circle round
my neck. They snuggle close to me, awed, half believ-
ing that it is all real, but so interested in the fairy folk
that they want "just one more story," and I must not
deny it.
May their baby sweetness never grow less, and may
their "Tah-mah-na-wis" be always ready to protect
them on their journey through the life allotted to mor-
tals, which is, after all, only a grown-up arrangement
of the Talking Pine tales, that they now love to hear
and half believe.
iii
1 0 ? 98 !
DEDICATION.
To these two, then — to little Laura, the one with the
curls of gold, and to her baby brother, little Elden—
this volume is lovingly dedicated, with the best wishes
of THE AUTHOR.
PREFACE.
The stories contained in this little volume under the
title of "Totem Tales" are the result of careful study
and research among various tribes of Indians of the
Northwestern Pacific Coast.
The Indian peculiarity of narration is kept as nearly
as possible, consistent with an understandable transla-
tion from the native tongue into English.
The Indian names are all spelled phonetically, nec-
essarily, so they should be pronounced as they are writ-
ten— by the Rounds represented. The stories constitute
the embodiment of the Indian mytho-religious beliefs,
and, as they are gathered from several tribes, they will
sometimes clash as to the doings or looks of some of
the characters, and in some cases the same character
is mentioned by a different name, arising from the dif-
ferent tribal languages.
The general idea of the white people seems to be
that Indians believe in one supreme being, or "Great
Spirit," which corresponds to the God of our Bible.
This is not the case at all, for their religion is a
vi PREFACE.
mixture of Tah-mah-na-wis, or magic; Skal-lal-a-toots,
or fairies, and Too-muck, or devils, the evil spirits,
coupled with a vast legendary lore of a purely mythical
nature — fairy stories, in fact — of which "Totem Tales"
constitute a part.
They are a very superstitious people and have signs,
charms, and incantations for everything. Magic plays
au important part in every Indian's everyday life and
is interwoven with his doings and those of his ances-
tors and of the magic personages described in the
legends, as, for example, "Spe-ow."
Some of the stories contained in this volume were
told to the author by the side of the campfire in the
great forest of the far Northwest, others were obtained
from "squaw men" who had married into the tribe and
were familiar with the tales, others were gathered from
men of long residence in the Northwest, who had heard
them from the old Indian story-tellers, characters who
are fast vanishing with civilization.
Cold type utterly fails to reveal the interest and fas-
cination of these weird and simple tales as heard from
the lips of some old and wrinkled member of the tribe,
a trained story-teller, while crouched by the side of a
blaze in the open air.
His eyes shine with interest in his own story, and he
PREFACE. vii
acts as much of it as he can, posturing, gesticulating,
talking with his hands as much as with his mouth, and
the musical gutturals of the Indian tongue adding
greatly to the story value of the tale.
The giant pines rise up and up from the circle of the
light until they are lost in the blackness that is only
intensified by the blaze. The shadows flit about as the
fire flickers, and it is not long until every Indian in the
circle of listeners imagines he can see demons and
fairies in the nooks of every bush and peeping from
behind the giant trees, and they are in precisely the
same state of mind that children are who listen to, a:i 1
believe, the frightful ghost stories told them by some
old woman.
It is another phase of voo-dooism, a dealing in magic
and magic personages, and every legend has been
called into being by the thirst of the human mind to
know the origin of things which it does not compre-
hend.
The legends account for the presence of mountains
and other natural objects, the beginning, or creation,
of animals, birds, etc., and the reason for the world
being as it is to-day.
At this late date it is difficult to separate the Bible
stories told by missionaries, years ago, to the Indians,
viii PREFACE.
and which have since drifted into legendary lore
twisted to fit the Indian view, and worn almost unrec-
ognizable by many repetitions, from that part which is
purely legendary and of Indian origin.
This the author has endeavored to do, using time
and patience, listening to the same story from different
sources, until the Totem Tales embody the pure Indian
stories which are told around the winter night story-
fire in the lodges of the Northwest.
With these words of explanation I launch these
"Talking Pine" tales on the troubled sea of public opin-
ion, with the hope that they will as greatly interest
the young readers into whose hands they may chance
to fall as they interested a group of little folks in one
of our Western cities the first time I told them of
"Spe-ow" and had to go away leaving them dancing on
the lawn and calling, "More! more! tell us more."
W. S. P.
CREDIT MENTION
For efficient aid in procuring the material for
"Totem Tales" I am indebted to Mr. J. A. Costello, of
Seattle, Wash., a fellow "crank on Indians" who
tramped the great woods in company with me and
jotted down the notes while my pencil was busy with
sketches. Together we drew the stories, or many of
them, from the people we met on this trip.
Mr. Ed. Grant, a personal friend and former resi-
dent of the Northwest, has also given me many inside
points on the mysterious Kloo-Kwallie dance which
have filled out my own knowledge of this ceremony.
His graphic recitals of the everyday habits of the Quin-
ault tribe have also helped to a truer insight of the wild
men, and he got his knowledge from five years' resi-
dence with them.
Three of the stories, namely, "The Wind Dance,"
"The Kain Song," and "Kloo-Kwallie, the Medicine
Dance," were first printed as they appear here in the
ix
X CREDIT MENTION.
"Forest and Stream" of New York, and seemed to have
had at least some interested readers; in fact, their
comments started me on tL3 idea of grouping these
legends in book form.
THE AUTHOR.
CONTENTS.
The Talking Pine 19
Song of the Waters 24
Dance of the Wind 35
Ka-ke-hete, the Chief of the Demons 41
Birth of Skamson 51
The Deeds of Yelth 60
Wee-nat-chee, the Rainbow 68
Cawk, the Beaver's Daughter 78
Quaw-te-aht, the Changer 91
The Great Waters 99
The Crow Children 108
Kit-si-na-o, the Stone Mother 114
The Rain Song 124
Of Wah-wah-hoo, the Frog 130
Jftoo-Kwallie, the Medicine Dance 146
About the River Falls 157
Tale of the Demons 166
Magic of the Evil Eye 175
Concerning a Hunter and a Bear 189
Doak-a-Batl, the Maker 194
- Birth of the Sun 204
Spe-ow and the Spider 212
Ta-ko-mah, the Mountain 223
The Bear Mother 241
Yelth and the Butterfly 242
Klale Tah-mah-na-wis 257
Reading of the Totem Pole 269
Carving of the Medicine Rattle 280
Skamson, the Thunderer 285
The Sing-Gamble 294
The Tah-mah-na-wis of S'doaks 302
ILLUSTRATIONS.
The Story Teller Frontispiece.
A Sloping Beach for the Canoes to Come Against 20
Where the Children May Wade 21
The Talking Pine 22
T'solo on the Lake 22
T'solo and the Talking Pine 25
Wee-wye-kee 26
Al-ki-cheek Shells 26
Mowitch, the Deer 26
Tzum-pish, the Trout 26
The Rocks Try to Hold Me 27
The Mountain Sheep 29
The Ferns and the Pool 30
To Them I Have Given Many Drinks 31
Skall-lal-a-toots 37
Moccasin 38
The Night Bird 42
The Path That S'noqualm, the Moon, Made 43
Ka-ke-hete 45
Esick 45
Ka-ke-hete on the River 46
The Wind Fought Ka-ke-hete a Great Battle 47
Carving of Ka-ke-hete 49
Skal-lal-aye Musk 49
Too-lux 52
Quoots-hoi 52
Too-lux Caught a Little Whale 53
The Whale— Haida Drawing 55
The Little Whale— Haida Drawing 56
xiii
xiv ILLUSTRATIONS.
But Too-lux Cut the Whale Across the Back 57
Yelth Made Love to the Eagle's Daughter 61
Yelth 63
Ravens 63
Yelth Flew Out of the Smoke Hole 64
Yelth Flew with the Fire 65
Looked Down at the Great Mountains 69
Chee-chee-watah 70
Chee-watum 70
Gave Chethl a Magic Bear Skin 71
White Water Flower 73
Left Her Body Lying on the Floor 74
Made Magic Medicine 75
The Keeper of the Dead 76
Cawk Goes with the Chief of the Sea Gulls 79
T'sing, the Beaver 81
A Lodge of Fish Skins 82
Killed Him and Cut Off His Head 83
Tipsu-Koshoo, the Seal 84
He Cut Her Fingers Off 85
Called to Her Totem, Hootza 88
Hootza, the Wolf 89
Quaw-te-aht 92
A Little Boy Crying 93
Ohee-chee^watah 95
Threw His Knife at the Man '. 97
Made Magic to Call the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis 101
A Salmon Spear 103
Made Cedar Bark Ropes 104
G'Klobet Loaded His Biggest Canoe 105
The Other Canoes Drifted Away 106
They Answered with the Voices of Crows 109
Left Them by the Canoe Ill
And So It Was He Carved the Totem Pole 112
The Crow 113
She Laughed at the Child of Skoolt-ka 115
Skoolt-ka Had Only One Child 117
The Tribe of Hoot-za Met in Council 118.
ILLUSTRATIONS. xv
The Tribe of Hoot-za Ran to Her Lodge 119
The Stone Woman 122
Sat and Smoked My Pipe 125
Flowers and Grasses 126
The Pines Danced the Wind Dance 127
The Great Chief 131
Smoked the Peace Pipe 132
Wah-wah-hoo 133
Carried Her into the Forest 135
The Eagle Circled High 137
T'set-shin, the Snake . . . 138
The Squirrel Watched 139
The Tribe of the Mosquitoes 139
The Wolves Smelled the Ground 140
Plunged Off into the Whirlpool 141
The Chief of the Fishes Took Him 142
White Men Call Her the Will-o-the-Wisp 143
Spud-tee-dock 147
They Looked Like Black Shadows 149
Held S'doaks with His Back Close to the Fire 151
With These He Scourged Himself 152
The Medicine Lodge 153
S'doaks Fell Down 155
Medicine Pipe 155
A Sheet of Hurrying, Singing Water 15S
The River Falls 159
The Demon Fought a Great Fight 161
No Swimmer Could Live Here 163
The Story Pipe 167
A Big Demon Who Was the Worst One 168
The Big Demon Made a Good Talk 169
The Ground Cracked Open 171
The Great River 172
His Tail Was Broken 173
The Evil Eye 177
A Medicine Man . 179
A Too-muck 179
Charm Mask 180
XVi ILLUSTRATIONS.
Medicine Bag 180
A Baby of a Smiling Face 181
Found Her with Touats at the Spring 185
The Grouse 187
Touats 187
Indian Drawing on Robe 188
Touats and Hoots Fought a Great Fight 189
Hoots, the Bear 191
Doak-a-batl 195
T'shumin, the Canoe Chopper 196
He Wove a Willow Weir 197
A Medicine Man Dancing 199
Enapoo, the Muskrat 200
Left Three Big Tracks 201
Found His Brother Occupying His Place 205
The Moon Boy 208
The Sun Brother 209
Spe-ow 214
The Moon Chief Found Him in the Trap 215
Ki-ki, the Blue Jay 217
Spe-ow Threw Up the Sun 218
S'noqualm Fell to the Ground 219
S'noqualm 220
The Tyee Spider 221
Spe-ow Kicked the Bluff Over 222
The Mountain, Takomah 225
Hia-qua 227
He Went Away at the Coming of Night 229
The Black Lake and the Tah-mah-na-wis Rocks 230
The Elkhorn Pick 231
He Started to Climb Out 232
The Wind Threw Him Over the Rocks 233
Smoked and Had Many Thoughts 237
An Old Woman by the Lodge Door 239
The Spotted Water Bird 242
Indian Carving of the Bear Mother 243
The Women Made Fun of Hoots 245
Hoots Carried Away the Chief's Daughter 247
ILLUSTRATIONS. xvii
Killed Hoots, the Bear 249
Hoots Knows Where Good Eating Is 253
They Searched for Homes for the Tribes of Men 256
Tah-mah-na-wis Wolf Masks 258
The Klale Tah-mah-na-wis Dance 259
Tah-mah-na-wis Masks 262
A Skall-lal-a-toot 263
Tah-mah-na-wis Masks 265
The Dancers Sat Down 266
The Thunder Bird Mask 26r<
The Great Totem Pole 271
The Lodge of the Dead Man 274
I Brought the Great Pole from the Canoe . . > 275
This Is the Tale 278
The Medicine Rattle 281
Medicine Rattle 283
Indian Drawing of Skamson 286
The Flight of Skamson 287
Indian Drawings of Skamson 289, 290, 291
War Club 291
Where the While Men Live by the Lake 292
Indian Drawings of Skamson 293
Gamble Sticks , 296
Made a Motion to That Side , 297
The Fire Had Burned Low 299
S'doaks 303
S'doaks, Listen ! 305
Knife 307
I Am Tah-mah-na-wis 308
Ki-ki Told Him to Rest by the River 309
Mink Dragging a Blue Jay 312
HLIMfie
the unmapped West,
close to the edge of the last chain of
hills that mark the rim of the land,
is the Lake of the Mountains. The
Lake of the Mountains is very deep
and very blue, and it is pure and sweet, for it is cradled
in the mountain valley, and the great peaks are
painted in it, upside down, by the Skal-lal-a-toots, as
they always paint things in the water.
To know the Lake of the Mountains is to love it for
its beauty and its songs. The opal armoured trout
and the bronzy bass are there and the burnished gleam
of the lusty salmon is not strange to its waters.
All these things the Indians have known for many
moons. They know that the blue woods which hover
about shelter all kinds of wild things, so they have
camped for many, many summers on the shore of the
19
20
TOTEM TALES.
Lake of the Mountains, and always at the same place,
which is on a point that puts out into the lake
and makes a sheltered cove with a sandy beach, where
the canoes can come against the shore, and where
the children may wade in the water.
Just back of the landing, on the top of the small
A SLOPING BEACH FOR THE CANOES TO COME AGAINST.
ridge of land that goes on and on up to the moun-
tains, stands a great Pine, with a goodly space under
his spreading branches whore a dance may be held
and a council fire be built. Back of this pine are other
THE TALKING PINE.
21
pines, and back of them are others still, and others,
until the world is blue with pines, and they cover the
mountains even up to the deep snow.
These are only common pines, and the great one all
alone, the one who is so very old and tall, and whose
arms are withered in places, and whose head is grey
WHERE THE CHILDREN MAY WADE.
with age, is the Talking Pine, the wise one of all the
nation of Pine Trees, and is the friend of T'solo, the
wanderer.
I am called "T'solo" the wanderer, and I have been
in many lands, but the Talking Pine has told me
22
TOTEM TALES.
about stranger things and stranger men than I ever
saw, and many nights I have crossed the Lake of the
Mountains in my canoe, that I might sit
at the foot of the great tree and hear the
tales.
These tales I will now give to you as
I heard them, for they are good things to
know, and there is much of the wisdom
of age in them, for the Talking Pine is
very, very old, and very wise, and T'solo's
word is the wTord of the pine.
All the rest of the Pines are of the
nation of the Talking Pine, but he is the
Tyee, the great chief of the tribe, and is the leader in
all the dances and songs of the woods, and the friend
of all the wild things that live in the woods. His wis-
dom is deep, for he is old and
has heard many councils, and
many councils make one very
wise. Because he is so wise all
things ask aid and good words ^
of him.
Once there were many strange Tsoio on the Lake,
beings in this country, and many strange things hap-
pened, so now there are many stories to be told to
The Talking Pine.
THE TALKING PINE. 23
those who do not know of these things that happened
long ago. Now, all who love tales of the wild things,
and of their wisdom, should come to the story fire;
for while it burns will be talked the talk of the Pine,
and there is wisdom and strange things to be told.
We will light the story fire and put a coal against
the chinoos that is in the pipe, and when the smoke
begins to warm the mind, and the fire begins to warm
the bones, we will hear the tales, and through these
tales you will learn the wisdom and of the good heart
of the Talking Pine, the Wise One, that dwells by the
Lake of the Mountains, which are piled against the
great water by T'set-se-la-litz, the country of the Sun-
down.
^»»s^ ^* ■** ^m <+~+~ .
or Trl£
HEN the story fire was burning the
first time I came to listen to the
Talking Pine he told me of the Song
of the Waters this way:
"T'solo, the wanderer, listen to
the tale of the waters.
"In the country called T'set-se-la-litz, which is the
kind of the Sundown, there is a great high mountain
which is named T'ko-mah, the one that feeds.
"This is because the rivers that come from there
are white like milk, and the mountain is white and
round like the breast of a woman, and the people of
the mountain give it this name because a woman feeds
her children from her breast, as T'ko-mah feeds its
children, which are the rivers.
"One river that comes from T'ko-mah is called
D'wampsh, the crooked one that sings, and it tells
24
SONG OF THE WATERS.
25
tales of the mountains and of the woods to those who
know its speech.
"Now Wee-wye-kee, the grandmother, is very old,
and is a friend of the crooked one that sings, and is
also my friend.
"Wee-wye-kee knows the language of D'wampsh
and knows all his songs, and she told the songs to me,
mj'''
T'SOLO AND THE TALKING PINE.
and now I sing them for you, T'solo. It is the song
of the waters like this:
"I am the wild one, the crooked one that sings,
D'wampsh. My father is the snow and my mother is
26
TOTEM TALES.
Tko-mah. The heart of my father is cold, but the
heart of my mother is warm, for it is the fire, and I
am born. A-a-ah-na! And I am born!
"I sing, I leap, I run —
I, DVampsh, the crooked
one — and I am happy, for
I know many friends. I
know T'kope-mowitch, the
white goat, that lives by
my mother, and to him and his brothers, the
mountain sheep, I have given many drinks. A1"kShenesek
"I know Mowitch, the deer, and Moos-moos, the
great elk, whose horns are like the arms of a pine.
"I know Yelth, who is the Raven, the maker of
Wee-wye-kee.
Mowitch, the Deer.
T'zum-pish, the Trout.
the fire, and I am at war with the fire. Ah-e-e-e! I
am always at war with the fire.
THE ROCKS TRY TO HOLD ME.
27
SONG OF THE WATERS.
29
"I love the woods, who are wise, and I love the
ferns, who are small, and who shade my face with
their fingers, and I love the rocks who are big, and
strong, and hard.
"The rocks play with me and try to hold me with
their big, hard fingers, but they can't! They can't!
Ha! Ha! They can't! I run, I leap, and I sing, and
THE MOUNTAIN SHEEP.
I am free! I, D'wampsh, the crooked one, I sing and
I am free.
"Ah-e-e-e, Wee-wye-ke, the grandmother, they can't
stop me, for I am always going to the council of the
great water that is by Ill-a-hee Al-ki, the land of the
Bye and Bye.
30
TOTEM TALES.
"Come with me, Wee-wye-ke, come in your canim,
and I will carry you to Ill-a-hee Al-ki, and give you
Al-ki-cheek, the shells to wear in your ears, and to
trim moccasins with. Ah-e-e-e, Wee-wye-ke, come and
you shall have Al-ki-cheek, plenty of it.
THE FERNS AND POOL.
"I have got the gold that my mother gives me,
ha! ha! The yellow gold that Squintum, the white
man, seeks!
"Yes, I have it, plenty! plenty! plenty! But I bury
31
SONG OF THE WATERS. 33
it iii my sand, lie! he! 1 bury it in my sand, deep
down, and then I roar, and foam, and sing, and the
Squintum cannot find the gold, and it is well.
"Ah-e-e-e, Wee-wye-ke, it is well, for the white man,
Squintum, is thirsty to kill when his eyes shine with
the yellow gold. So I hide it and sing on, and let him
hunt!
"I sing to the rushes until they sleep, and 1 give
them drink for their thirsty stems. The willows, too,
drink of my water, and it is well.
"Tzuni, the spotted trout, lives in my shadow and
waits until his grandmother, the Chinook salmon,
comes from the sea, the council of water, then he
grows fat on eggs, Ah-e-e-e, Wee-wye-ke, then the can-
nibal grows fat on eggs.
"I know Ena, the beaver, and Kula-kula, the wild
duck, and I know Enapoo, the niuskrat, the lazy one
that sits in the sun. 1 know many, many more, Wee-
wye-ke, many more, and they are all my friends. Have
you not heard the song of the lonesome one, Wah-
wah-hoo, the frog? Wah-wah-hoo is my friend, too,
and sings at night for Hah-hah, who was his wife, and
who is dead.
"Now, Wee-wye-ke, I must hurry, for I hear the
song of the Skamson, the Thunderbird, and soon the
34
TOTEM TALES.
rain will come, and 1 must dance then and carry it to
the sea; Klook-wah, Wee-wye-ke."
And so ended the song* of the water as Ka-ki-i-sil-
mah, the Talking Pine, spoke it a long time ago.
/'
OME, T'solo, the wanderer, when the
wind is strong in the Southwest,
and see the wind dance and hear the
wind song of the pines." So said
my friend, the Talking Pine, when
we parted the last time.
This Wise Pine, which is so old that it can remem-
ber the coming of the first white man, had promised
to tell me the secrets of the woods, and this was to be
the beginning. So when the wind came from the
Southwest I got into my canoe and journeyed across
the Lake of the Mountains until I came to the place
where the Wise One lives.
The Talking Pine and all his large family and all
their relations were dancing the wind dance and
singing the wind song when the canoe scraped on the
sand.
35
36 TOTEM TALES.
The Talking Pine saw me and nodded his head, but
did not stop dancing, for you must know that when
the pines begin dancing they will sing and dance the
wind dance just as long as the}- can get the wind to
help them with the music.
They love to swing and to sway with the wind that
comes from the sea to help them sing, and you know
the pines cannot sing alone and they always sleep
when the wind goes away.
I came to the foot of the Talking Pine so he could
talk as he danced, and he told me why the pines dance
the wind dance, and sing always when the wind is in
the Southwest.
This the Talking Pine said about the wind dance:
"Many, many years ago, before I was born, or my
father, or my father's father was born, when the wind
was still a little boy, there were many strange and
horrible creatures in the world, and they were always
at war.
"Far away to the Southwest lived an old Skall-lal-
a-toot that the wind loved to play tricks on.
"This Skall-lal-a-toot had a daughter about the
same age as the wind, and the wind loved the little
one for her winning ways and pretty face, for, you
know, they are all this way.
DANCE OF THE WIND.
a 7
"The old Skall-lal-a-toot loved his daughter very
much, too, and hated the wind because he was always
traveling and playing tricks, and had a bad temper.
"When the wind got old enough to marry he went
to this girl and wanted her to go away with him to
his lodge.
"She was willing, but the old SkalMal-a-toot was
very angry and hid his daughter.
SKALL-LAL-A-TOOTS.
"Now, you know the wind can make himself very
small and invisible, so he came in the night and took
the Skall-lal-a-toot's daughter in his arms and started
away across the big water to take her to his lodge.
"Soon the old Skall-lal-a-toot missed his daughter
and went to find the wind and get his daughter back,
and at the same time to punish the wind for the trick
he had played on him.
"After a long journey he overtook the wind, and
while the wind slept he took his daughter and then
38 TOTEM TALES.
struck the wind so hard ou the head that he was like
a dead man for a long time.
"Then the old Skall-lal-a-toot took his daughter and
started for home again.
"When the wind woke up he was pelton in his
head — crazy, the white men call it — and could not
remember anything, and had lost the power to change
himself back to his visible shape again, so now you
can only hear him sing, but can never see him.
"After a long time the wind remembered
that the Skall-lal-a-toot's daughter was with
him, and he thought she had been stolen, so
he went to look for her.
"The wind was very strong in his body,
Moccasin. becailge he was wrong in his head, and he
traveled very fast and got very angry when he
thought of the old Skall-lal-a-toot, and at last he over-
took the old man with his daughter and fought him
a great battle away out over the big water.
"Soon the old Skall-lal-a-toot was forced to drop his
daughter and take care of himself, and wxhen the
father let go wf her the girl fell down into the water
and was drowned.
"Then the Tah-mali-na-wis took her up in the sky,
so the wind could see her always.
DANCE OF THE WIND. 39
"The white men call her the Moon, but they do not
know why her face is white like the face of a drowned
person, or why you can always see the ghost of the
moon in the water when you look, on a moonlight
night.
"That is because she was drowned in the big water,
and now she must always stay there until the wind
finds her, and the wind is crazy and does not know
her face, but travels always and looks for his wife and
sings to call her from the woods.
"The wind thinks the pines know where his wife
is, and he is always singing to them to tell him; then
he gets crazy again and thinks she is with him, and
he goes away laughing and singing.
"The wind loves to dance and to sing, and the pines
always help the poor fellow, and he tells them many
things that he sees in his travels.
"lie is not always crazy, and then he moans ana
cries for his wife, and looks everywhere, but soon he
gets crazy again and sings and shrieks, and rushes
along looking for the old Skall-lal-a-toot.
"The Tah-mah-na-wis changed the wicked old Skall-
lal-a-toot into the sun and put him in the sky, and now
he is always running away from his daughter and
she is always following him."
40
TOTEM TALES.
This the Talking Pine told me as he danced the
wind dance and sung the wind song.
"I would sleep now, T'solo, the wanderer," said the
Pine when the wind went away. "When there is more
to tell you I will let you know by a message and you
will come then, T'solo, the wanderer, and we will see
more."
The
SFT
shinin
the Mountains, and Esick, the pad-
dle, whispered to the Skall-lal-a-
toots that live in the water, as I
went along toward the path that Snoqualm, the moon,
puts on the still water.
You can never come up to this path because Sno-
qualm moves it away just as fast as the canoe travels,
and he stops it when you stop, but he does not bring
it nearer.
When the canoe came against the sand that is in
front of where the Wise One stands it made no noise
and I thought the great Pine was sleeping, he was so
still, but he spoke and his voice was small like the
voice of a man talking a long ways across the water,
or a man talking in the night when Polikely Kula-
kula, the owl, is flying, and he said, "T'solo, the wan-
41
42
TOTEM TALES.
derer, you are late to-night, and for that we can only
have a short talk. There is a tale of Ka-ke-hete, chief
of all the demons, that fits the night well, and we will
have this, the tale of Ka-ke-hete."
"That is well, Wise One, for I would know of Ka-
THE NIGHT BIRD.
ke-hete, the chief of demons, so when I hear his
whistle I may know what to do. Talk, and say the
tale, Wisest of Pines."
Then the Pine began, and his voice was small and
full of sleep.
13
KA-KE-HETE, THE CHIEF OF DEMONS.
45
"A long time ago Ka-ke-hete, Chief of the Too-
muck, was making a journey. For many days he trav-
eled in his canoe, and he journeyed
with the water toward the council of
waters, and this was on a river that
is named Samumpsh.
"When he had traveled for as
many days as the lingers of one hand
and two more the wind saw him.
"By this time he Avas on the great
water and there was no land
close, so the wind, who is al-
ways at war with Ka-ke-hete,
Ka-ke-hete.
sung a Avar song and ran over the Avater.
"Ka-ke-hete saAV the wind coming and tried
hard to reach the shore of an island, but Esick,
the paddle, Avas slow, and the travel of the canoe
Avas like the travel of a tired child, and so the
Avind caught Ka-ke-hete and fought him there
in his canoe.
"Soon Ka-ke-hete fell out of the canoe and
had to swim, and the Avind thought he Avas dead
of the Avater and went away singing.
"Ka-ke-hete did not die, but SAvam to the
island and hid there in the Avoods for a long time.
Esick.
46
TOTEM TALES.
"When he saw any children playing in the sand
down by the water, then Ka-ke-hete ran down and car-
ried them into the woods and ate them up.
"Now, this made the people very angry and very
sad, and they came together in a great council and
KA-KE-HETE ON THE RIVER.
said, 'This thing in the woods must be killed, so it
cannot eat our children/ so they went into the woods
to hunt and kill Ka-ke-hete, but they found only an
otter, for Ka-ke-hete had seen them coming and by
his magic had changed his form to that of an otter,
THE WIND FOUGHT KA-KE-HETE A GREAT BATTLE. 47
KA-KE-HETE, THE CHIEF OF DEMONS.
4!)
and so they did not kill him, for the people knew that
an otter was not big enough to eat children.
"When the people all went back to their lodges Ka-
ke-hete changed himself back to his own form, and at
night went down to the beach and stole a canoe.
"With this canoe he paddled away from the island
and went on his jour-
ney, and so he got away.
"Now you may hear
his voice at night in
the woods, and it is
not the voice of Hoots,
the brown bear, nor
the voice of Itswoot,
the black bear, nor the
voice of Puss-puss, the
cougar, nor the voice of
— -m
Car
vinhe°teKa'ke' Hootza, the wolf, but it
Skal-lal-aye Mask.
sounds like all of these voices, and it sounds like the
war song of the wind, but it is not any of these.
"It is like the voices of the dead people who are at
Stickeen, the land of Shadows, and it makes you cold
on your back, and your hair lay away from your head.
"It is the voice of Ka-ke-hete, the chief of the
demons, who calls his tribe and sings for the little
50 TOTEM TALES.
Skall-lal-a-toots who live everywhere and who make
much mischief.
"When you hear this sound at night, then drop
your lodge curtain and see that the great Skall-lal-aye
mask hangs on the lodge pole over your head, so that
Ka-ke-hete will go by and not raise the lodge curtain.
"And this is the tale of Ka-ke-hete, the Tyee of all
demons."
So said the Talking Pine.
"It was a good tale, Wise One, and I will hang up
tin1 mask in my lodge and drop the door curtain as
I go in.
"I will come for more tales, and now Klook-wah."
And then I went with the canoe across the Lake
of the Mountains.
ly greeting as I tied my canoe to the
end of a log and let it drift on the
placid water and mirror itself in the
Lake of the Mountains, while I
climbed up to sit at the foot of the Wise One and
listen to the tales he had to tell.
"To-night we will know of the birth of the Thunder-
bird, Skamson, who makes the rain, T'solo," said the
Pine as I lighted my pipe and waited at his feet,
watching the moon rise.
"It is good," I answered; "I would know of the Thun-
derbird, Wise One, and how he came to be. Tell the
tale and I will listen."
"Then it is this way," said the Talking Pine, and
at once he began to tell the tale.
51
52
TOTEM TALES.
"Too-lux was the South wind, who always traveled
North in the summer time.
"Quoots-hoi was au old witch who lived by a great
river and whose home was by the rocks.
"When Too-lux came to the river he
was tired and hungry from his travel, and
when he saw Quoots-hoi he said, 'Give me
something to eat, for I am olo, hungry.'
Too-lux.
" 'I have nothing ready, but here is a
net; go and catch a *little whale and bring
it to me so I can cook it, and you shall
have some fish for your hunger/ said
Quoots-hoi.
"So Too-lux took the net, which was made of the
small roots of the hemlock tree, and waded into the
great water. There he soon caught a little
whale and brought it to the lodge of
Quoots-hoi and prepared to clean it to
make it ready to eat.
"Then Quoots-hoi handed a knife, made
from a sharp sea-shell, to Too-lux and
said, 'Do not cut the little whale across
his back, but split him along his backbone and dress
him that way.'
♦Grampus.
Quoots-hoi.
TOO-LUX CAUGHT A LITTLE WHALE.
BIRTH OF SKAMSON. 55
"Now, Too-lux was very hungry and was in such a
hurry for his dinner that he did not pay much atten-
tion to what Quoots-hoi, the witch, had told him, bur
cut the little whale across the back.
"When he did this the whale immediately changed
and became a great bird, which flew away and lit on
pmih 'n
THE WHALE— HAIDA DRAWING.
a high mountain. There it built a nest and laid many
eggs. Quoots-hoi and Too-lux followed the bird and
found the nest. They destroyed all the eggs but one,
and that one hatched before they could get around to
break it, and so the Thunderbird was born.
56 TOTEM TALES.
"Before Quoots-hoi and Too-lux could capture and
kill it the bird flew away and went to another high
mountain and covered itself up with clouds, so no
one can find it now, and it is the maker of the rain,
and of Too-tah, the thunder.
THE LITTLE WHALE (GRAMPUS)— HAIDA INDIAN DRAWING.
"Some other time I will tell you what the Thunder-
bird can do, and where he lives and what he eats, but
not now, T'solo, the wanderer, for the moon is high and
it is time to sleep. Come again and listen, for there
are more tales to tell."
57
BIRTH OF SKAMSON.
59
And so I journeyed to my lodge again and left the
Wise One to sleep out his sleep, for he is old, and those
who are old must sleep much and are not like young-
folks, whose eyes are bright and whose feet are like
the feet of a deer.
ELL me, Wise One, of the deeds of
Yelth, the Raven," I said to the Talk-
ing Pine, as I came and sat by his
feet.
"You would know of the deeds of
the Black One, Yelth, the Raven?" he asked.
"Yes, Wise One, the story of the fire; tell me of this,
and how it came about."
"Listen then, T'solo, the wanderer, for it is well
to know of the fire, and how it came.
"Yelth, the Rav£h, is a good spirit and has done
many deeds, so many that I cannot tell you of all of
them. Nobody knows of all that Yelth has done, for
he has lived a long, long time, and is alwTays doing
deeds.
"But of the fire: I know the tale and will tell of
it and of the sun, the moon, the stars, and of the fresh
60
awi
7 v
1/ I { it J JW&
YELTH MADE LOVE TO THE EAGLE'S DAUGHTER. 61
THE DEEDS OP1 YELTH.
63
water, which Yelth, the Raven, got from the eagle and
gave to men.
"It is like this:
"When times were young and people did not have
all the things in the world that they do now, the great
Gray Eagle was a mighty
chief and was keeper of
the fire, the sun, the
moon, the stars, and the
fresh water.
"lie was the enemv of
Yelth.
men and guarded all these things well that men did
not set them for their own use.
"Now, Yelth was a friend to men and
always doing
good
deeds for them, and for
was
this
Ravens.
reason he was hated by the Eagle, who was his uncle.
"The Eagle had a pretty daugh-
ter, and Yelth made love to the
girl, and so got into the lodge of
his uncle, the Eagle, and looked
around to see what the Eagle had that would be srood
for the use of men.
"At this time the Raven was not a black bird, as
he is now, but was a fine young man, who was
changed by the magic of his enemies into the shape
64 TOTEM TALES.
of a bird, and he was very Avise himself in all the ways
of magic, and so the Eagle's daughter loved him.
"Soon Yelth found the sun, the moon, the stars,
the fire, and the fresh water, and he deserted his
sweetheart and stole all these things from his uncle,
YELTH FLEW OUT OF THE SMOKE HOLE.
and, putting on his magic bird skin, flew out of the
smoke hole in the lodge with them.
"As soon as he got outside he hung the sun up in
the air, and putting on his magic bird skin again,
soon reached an island in the great water, where he
rested until it was night.
THE DEEDS OF YELTH. 67
"Now, when the darkness came lie could not see how
to travel, so he scattered the stars about iu the sky
and hung up the moon, so he could have light, and
left them there for the use of men.
"When he found he could see to travel by this light
he took the fresh water and the lire and started for
his own lodge. Soon he dropped the water and it fell to
the ground, and now there are lakes and rivers in the
land, and men have good water to drink.
"With the fire he journeyed on, and soon all the
stick burned up, and the smoke made his body black,
and his bill burned until he had to drop the lire, and it
fell in the rocks and in the trees, and it is still there,
for you may get fire by rubbing two sticks together,
and you may get it by striking two rocks together, too.
"And so that is the coining of fire. When you come
again, T'solo, the wanderer, I will tell you more of the
deeds of Yelth, but not now, so Klook-wah."
r
JUL x
^ RMNBOW
c
HE sun was painting the Western
sky with bright patches of gold and
rose when I lighted my pipe and got
into my canoe to journey across the
Lake of the Mountains and hold a
talk with my friend, the Talking Pine.
The pisht, pisht, of the eddy loving paddle made
sweet sounds and sung soft lullabys as I journeyed
across the silent lake and looked down at the great
mountains that are in the bottom, like silent gray
ghosts, and in time I came to the beach of yellow
sand which is just where the Wise One lives.
"Kla-how-ya, T'solo, the one who wanders," said
the Pine, "it is a good night, a night of many colors
in the sky, and to-morrow the rain will come, and then
all the pines will sing the rain song and dance the
rain dance, for the wise one, Skamson, the great Tlinn-
68
WEE-NAT-CHEE, THE RAINBOW.
69
derbird, has sent me word, and he has said that Wee-
natchee, the Rainbow, will come with the rain to-
morrow.
"Know you, T'solo, wanderer, know you the tale of
Wee-natchee?"
LOOKED DOWN AT THE GREAT MOUNTAINS.
"No, Wise One," I answered, "I do not know the
tale of Wee-natchee, the Rainbow. Know you the
tale, Ka-ki-i-sil-mah, Wisest of Pines?"
70
TOTEM TALES.
Chee-chee-watah.
"Yea, I know the tale. Light your pipe again,
Tsolo, for it is burned out and the smell of blue
Chinoos smoke is a good smell
when tales are to be told.
Make your pipe full of Chinoos,
T'solo, and when the white
man's fire stick makes the bowl
red with fire and the smoke
comes well, I will tell you the
tale, T'solo."
"It is well, and I listen,
Wise One."
"Then it is this way," answered the Talking Pine.
"Siah-ah-ah Ahn-n-n-cutty, so
long ago that I have no memory,
T'solo, the wanderer, there was a
great chief who was the head of
many tribes and a wise man.
"This man's name was Chee-
wat-um, the one who stays at
home.
"He was wise in the ways of
men and wise in the ways of the
Tah-mah-na-wis, and of magic, and so many people
came to see him for his wisdom. Now, Chee-wat-um,
Chee-watum.
GAVE CHETHL A MAGIC BEAR SKIN.
71
WEE-NAT-CHEE. THE RAINBOW. 73
the wise one, had a daughter who was fair and fresh
as the tirst white water flower of the lake that blos-
soms in the frog moon, and was wise in the ways of
men, for she was born with teeth, and as you know,
T'solo, she had lived before, else she would have been
born the same as other children —
without teeth.
"This girl was loved more than all
else by her father and was named by
him the Humming Bird, Chee-chee-
watah.
"Now, among others who came to
White Water Flower. COUllcil with CllC-Wat-lim WJ1S a VOUllg
warrior, who was Chethl, the Lightning, because of
his quick ways.
"When Chethl saw Chee-chee-watah he said in his
own thoughts, 'This girl shall be my wife, for she has
a fair face and much wisdom/ and so he set about to
make love to her.
"Chee-chee-watah, the Humming Bird, soon loved
Chethl, the Lightning, and they planned to marry and
live in a lodge of their own, and all was settled but
the word of Che-wat-um, her father. When he found
that his daughter loved the Lightning he was very
angry and put Chee-chee-watah in the woman's lodge
74 TOTEM TALES.
for many days, and sent Chetlil away and told him
never to see Chee-chee-watah again.
"Now, this made the young folks very sad, for they
loved each other very dearly, and for many days
Chetlil planned to see the Humming Bird, but failed.
LEFT HER BODY LYING ON THE FLOOR.
"Then he thought of the ways of magic, and so went
alone in the forest and called his great Tah-mah-na-
wis to him and said, 'I, Chetlil, the Lightning, am much
in love with Chee-chee-watah, the daughter of Che-
wat-um, the wise one who stays at home. Chee-chee-
WEE-NAT-CHEE, THE RAINBOW.
I:.
watah is kept in the woman's lodge and I cannot see
her. Give me a charm that will make all eyes but the
eyes of the Humming Bird blind when I walk by them,
so I may go to her.'
"And so the Tah-mah-na-wis gave to Chethl a magic
MADE MAGIC MEDICINE.
bear skin and said, 'Put on this bear robe and go to
your sweetheart, for no eye may see you when you are
covered with it. But be careful that you look toward
the rising sun and toward the setting sun when you
put it on, or else it will lose its magic and be as other
bear robes, and of no use.'
76
TOTEM TALES.
"Then Chethl put on the robe and went to the
woman's lodge, and no one saw him, and he said to
Chee-chee-watah, the Humming Bird, 'Come under the
robe and you shall go out of the sight of men, and we
will go far away and live in a lodge of our own.'
"So Chee-chee-watah got under the robe and they
went far away into the forest and
built a lodge and lived there together
until one day Chetl put on the magic
robe, but forgot to look toward the
rising sun and toward the setting
sun, and then a strange thing hap-
pened. When the bear robe fell over
the shoulder of Chetl there was a
great noise and a strong wind, and
Ka-ke-hete, the chief of the demons,
came and took Chetl away and left
Chee-chee-watah alone in the forest.
"When she waited for many days
and Chetl did not come back Chee- ^J^clZT"
chee-watah was very sad and mourned all the time
for her lost husband.
"Soon there came a time when Cole-sick, the keeper
of the dead, came and found Chee-chee-watah sitting
there mourning, and he took her away with him and
WEB-NAT-CHEE, THE RAINBOW. 77
left only her body lying on the floor of the lodge, and
there she was found by her father, Che-wat-um, who
had been looking for her for many moons.
"When he found she was dead he was very sad,
and made magic medicine and so called her back from
the country of the shadows and made her to be the
rainbow, Wee-natchee, and put her in the sky, so he
could see her always, because she was dead and could
no longer be his daughter, Chee-chee-watah.
"And so this is how Wee-natchee, the Rainbow,
came in the sky.
"Now, T'solo, the wanderer, go in your canoe to
your lodge across the Lake of the Mountains, and
fasten the door curtain, for Ka-ke-hete, the chief of the
demons, is blowing his whistle and coming fast over
the woods and chasing the wind, so it is well for you
to be by the lodge fire when they pass by, that you
may not see his wicked face."
And so I crossed over the Lake and sat in my lodge
while Ka-ke-hete walked across the Lake of the Moun-
tains and made the water white while it sung a war
song with the wind.
€Mk
VQ^W^mm
NOW yon of Cawk, the daughter
of T'sing, the Beaver, T'solo?"
asked the Talking Pine when next
I sat at his feet and watched the
little waves that always wash the
sand and sing there in the Lake of the Mountains.
"No, Wise One, I do not know of Cawk, the daugh-
ter of T'sing, and I would hear the tale."
"Listen then, T'solo, the wanderer, for it is a tale
that is good to know, for it shows how one can be too
proud, and in this lose the good and get only the bad
of living, and that is not a good thing to do.
"This is the tale, wanderer:
"Many, many summers ago there lived a chief who
was T'sing, the Beaver, all alone on a great island in
the big water.
"Now, T'sing, the Beaver, had a daughter who was
78
CAWK, THE BEAVER'S DAUGHTER.
81
Cawk, the one with the pretty face, ller mother had
long been dead, and she lived there alone with her
father, and so grew up to be a pretty girl, Cawk.
"All the young men of the country around came to
make love to Cawk, the pretty one, but to all she was
T'SIXG, THE BEAVER.
the same, and was too proud to be any but the wife
of a great chief, and so she waited.
"One time, w^hen the ice melted and the water
was unlocked, a great white bird who was T'kope
Kula-Kula, the sea gull, came to the island where the
Beaver, T sing, lived, and saw Cawk, the pretty one.
82
TOTEM TALES.
" 'Now the sea gull fell in love with Cawk and made
love to her with his song this way:
"'Come with me! Come into the land of the birds
where there is never hunger.
" 'Where my lodge is made of the most beautiful
woods, and where I, Tkope Kula-kula, am chief.
A LODGE OF FISH-SKINS.
" 'Your fire shall always burn with wood.
" 'You shall rest on soft bear robes.
" 'My people, the gulls, shall bring your food.
" 'Their feathers shall make your robes.
" 'Your basket shall always be filled with meat.'
CAWK, THE BEAVER'S DAUGHTER.
83
"So Cawk listened to the song and soon she loved
T'kope Kula-kula, the sea gull, and went away with
him across the big water, and lived in his lodge.
"Only too soon poor Cawk, the pretty one, found
that she had made a mistake when she sent all the
young men away and went with T'kope Kula-kula,
KILLED HIM AND CUT OFF HIS HEAD.
the chief of the sea gulls, for his lodge was not built
of beautiful woods, but only of the skins of fishes, and
was full of holes where Colesnass, the winter, came
in and froze her fingers.
"Instead of soft bear robes, her bed was only the
84
TOTEM TALES.
skins of Tipsu Ko-shoo, the hair seal, the water pig,
and she could not rest.
"And there was no wood for the lodge fire, and no
meat in the basket, and the only food she had was the
nasty fish that the tribe of the gulls threw to her, and
that was not much of anything, for the gulls are always
hungry and eat all they can get themselves.
"So Cawk, the daughter of T'sing, the Beaver, grew
sad in her mind and longed for her old home with her
father, and in her sadness she sung her song this way:
" 'T'sing, oh, my father, listen:
" 'If you knew how sad I am you would come to me.
" 'We would cross the big waters
in your canim.
" 'The tribe of T'kope Kula-kula
do not look on me with good
hearts, for I am a stranger. Tipsu Koshoo, the seal.
" 'Colesnass blows his breath on me and Ka-ke-hete
whistles by my bed.
" 'I have no food.
" 'I am sick and am very sad.
" 'Come, father, with your canim and take me home.'
"Now, when the summer came again T'sing got in
his canoe and crossed the big waters to go on a visit
to his daughter.
HE CUT HER FINGERS OFF.
85
CAWK, THE BEAVER'S DAUGHTER. 87
"She was very glad to see him and begged him to
take her home again, and told him how she had been
treated by her husband, T'kope Kula-kula.
"When T'sing, the Beaver, heard of this he was very
angry and waited until T'kope Kula-kula came back
to the lodge and then T'sing killed him and cut off
his head.
"Then he took Cawk, who was no longer the pretty
one, because her eyes were red with tears, with him in
his canoe, and went swiftly across the big water on
his way home again.
"Soon the tribe of T'kope Kula-kula came home and
found their chief dead, and his wife gone, and they
all began to cry and they still cry to this day for their
chief.
"All the tribe of gulls went in search of the killer
of their chief, and soon they saw the canoe of T'sing,
the Beaver, journeying across the big water.
"Then they stirred up a heavy storm, and made the
water rise up in great waves that tried to sink the
canoe of T'sing, the Beaver.
"When the storm came T'sing did a very wrong
thing, for he took Cawk, his daughter, and threw her
out in the big water for the birds to take revenge on.
"But Cawk caught the edge of the canoe, and held
88 TOTEM TALES.
on, until her father, to save himself, cruelly cut her
fingers off at the first joint. Now, the ends of her
fingers fell into the water, and the first one was
changed into the whale, and the finger nail became
the whalebone and so the whale came into the world.
CALLED TO HER TOTEM, HOOTZA.
"The second finger became a Grampus, or little
whale, and the others swam away in the shape of Sal-
mon, llerring, Codfish, Seals, and Hairseals, and so
these things all came into the big water and are still
there.
CAWK, THE BEAVER'S DAUGHTER. 89
"When Cawk fell into the big water the gulls
thought she was dead of the water and went away, and
so the waves calmed down, and her father took poor
Cawk back into the canoe, and took her home, but she
had no fingers and was in much pain.
"Now when she sat by her father's fire, and looked
at her hands, all the love went out of her mind and
Ka-ka-hete, the chief of the demons, came into it, be-
cause her father had been so
cruel to her.
"So she counseled with Ka-ka-
hete and he told her to make
medicine to hurt her father.
"Then Cawk called to her To-
tem spirit, who was Hoot-za, the
wolf, and to him she said: 'My father, T'sing, the
Beaver, has cut off my fingers. Bring all the tribe of
Hoot-za and let them gnaw off the hands and feet of
my father while he sleeps, so that Ka-ka-hete will go
out of my mind, and I may sleep/
"And so the tribe of Hootza came and gnawed off the
hands and feet of T'sing, the Beaver, while he slept,
and when he awoke he was very angry and talked
with a bad tongue to his Tah-mah-na-wis, because he
let Hootza eat his hands and feet.
90 TOTEM TALES.
"When he did this, the Sah-hale Tah-mah-na-wis
was very angry, and made the ground open up in a
great hole, and down went T'sing, the Beaver, Cawk,
the pretty one, and all the tribe of Ilootza, the wTolf,
except one, and from him came all the wolves in the
world, and they are all bad, because of the bad deeds
of Hootza."
This was the tale of Cawk, the daughter of T'sing,
the Beaver, that the Wise One, Ka-ki-i-sil-mah, the
Talking Tine, told me by the Lake of the Mountains.
4
O you know of Mowitch, the deer, and
how he came, T'solo, the wanderer?"
asked the Talking Pine as the moon,
Snoqualm, made a silver path
across the Lake of the Mountains,
from the black pines on the other side, clear up to the
beach of yellow sand, where my canoe made a black
spot on the water close by my foot.
"I listen for the tale, Wise One," I answered, and
then watched Snoqualm, the moon, climb up the sky
while the Talking Pine told me this tale:
"Mowitch was once a man, but is now a deer, be-
cause of the magic of Quaw-te-aht, who did many
other deeds, too, and it was this way," said the Pine.
"A long time ago Quaw-te-aht, the changer, came
across the land and traveled along through the woods.
"In his travels he came to a place where the rain
91
92
TOTEM TALES.
was falling and stood by one of the tribe of the pines
to wait until the rain went away.
"While he stood there he saw a man who was stand-
ing still and throwing his
hands about in the air over
his head very fast, and try-
ing to keep the rain from
falling on him in this way.
"When Quaw-te-aht saw
this he thought this man
was very foolish, and he said
to him, 'Why do you do
this?'
" 'That is the way to keep
the rain from falling on
you/ said the man.
" 'You are foolish, and for
your foolish ways, I will
change your form/ said
Quaw-te-aht, the changer.
'Go and be always in the
form of Chee-chee-watah, the Humming Bird, and
throw your arms fast for the rest of your life/
"And so by the magic of Quaw-te-aht the man was
changed into the form of the little bird that makes a
Quaw-te-aht.
A LITTLE BOY CRYING.
93
QUAW-TE-AHT, THE CHANGER.
noise with his wings, Chee-chee-watah, and now you
will always see him when the rain has just gone, or
when the tears of Snoqualm, the moon, fall at the com-
ing of Polikely, the night, all because of his foolish
ways when he was a num.
"Now, since this was done, no Indian is afraid of the
rain, and does not care if
it falls on him, because he
remembers the Humming
Bird, Chee-chee-watah.
"After the rain went
away, Quaw-te-aht went
on through the woods and
came to a little boy who
was sent by his mother to
pick a basket of Shot-o-lil-
ies, the Huckleberry, and
this little boy was crying,
'Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!' because he Avas not a brave boy and
was thinking of the Brown Bear, Hoots, who lived in
the woods.
"So Quaw-te-aht said, 'Why do you cry?'
"'Because I am afraid of Hoots, the Brown Bear,
and think he will come and eat me/ answered the boy.
" 'Now because you are not a brave boy, and because
Chee-chee-watah.
96 TOTEM TALES.
you cry always, I will change you from a boy to the
form of a bird,' said Quaw-te-aht, the changer, and so
by his magic the boy was changed into a dove, and is
now in the woods and always crying, 'Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!'
just as he did when lie was a boy, and very much
afraid of Hoots, the bear.
"So, if boys do not want to be changed into other
things, it is best for them to be brave and not cry
about Hoots, the bear, and then they will soon grow
to be men, and be wise.
"Quaw-te-aht journeyed along and soon came to an-
other man who was making sharp the edge of a stone
knife, and to this man he said, 'Why do you make the
knife sharp?'
" 'To cut meat,' answered the man.
" 'That is double talk, you make sharp the edge of
Opitsah, the knife, that you may kiW me, for I know
your mind and can see your thoughts. Give me the
knife,' said Quaw-te-aht, and started towards the man.
"Now the man knew that Quaw-te-aht saw his
thoughts and so lie was very much frightened and
started to run away.
"In his great haste he dropped his knife, and then
Quaw-te-aht picked it up and threw it at the man, and
it struck him in the heel.
QUAW-TE-AHT, THE CHANGER.
97
"When the knife stuck in his heel the man began to
jump about and ran into the woods.
"Quaw-te-aht, to punish him for his evil thoughts,
said, 'Go and be Mo witch, the deer, and jump about
in the woods always,' and so by the great magic of
Quaw-te-aht, the changer, this wicked man became
1 ' .Ml 'wA
v^^yr
/■/ l-\fj',/W
;■ mps'ft
THREW HIS KNIFE AT THE MAN.
the first deer, and still jumps about in the woods with
the knife in his heel, for you may see the handle of
it sticking out just above the foot of the deer, where
he has another toe, and his feet are split in two be-
cause the knife split the foot of the evil man.
98
TOTEM TALES.
"And so this is the tale of Mowitch, the deer, and
how he came."
When the tale was done, Snoqualm, the moon, had
climbed above the tops of the black pines across the
Lake of the Mountains, and was painting all the water
with light.
Then I got in the canoe and paddled away and the
voice of the Lake sung under the canoe as it went
along, and far away in the shadow of the trees I heard
the hunting cry of Puss-puss, the great yellow cougar,
who looked with his great green eyes for Mowitch, the
deer, for his meat, and from a dead pine, Polikely Kula-
kula, the big owl, sung for his wife to come, and so I
journeyed home to my lodge hearing these sounds.
Millet
WANDERER, you have seen the
mark of the waters on the mountain
tops many times in your journeys,
but do you know how the waters got
there?" asked the Talking Pine, when
I had sat down by his feet, and the smell of the Chinoos
was in the air.
I thought heavy thoughts on this, but I could not
think how the waters had left their marks on the top
of the hills, yet I knew they had, for I had seen the
sign in many lands, so I said, "No, Wise One, I do not
knoAv how the sign of the great waters came to be on
the tops of the mountains, but it is good wisdom ami
well to know. Know you, Avisest of Pines, how the
waters came on the hills?"
"Yes, I know, T'solo, the wanderer, I know how this
sign came there. Shall I tell the tale?"
09
100 TOTEM TALES.
"It is good to know of this, and I listen, Wise One.
Speak the tale."
"Then it was because of this:
"A long time ago, before Yelth, the raven, was born,
or before the coming of Hoots, the great brown bear,
there were different men in the land from the men
we know now, and they were not good men.
"Always they talked with a double tongue and
knew much magic, but it was the magic of Too-muck,
the evil spirits, and the magic of the little folks of the
woods, the Skall-lal-a-toots, who are the makers of
mischief and little bad deeds.
"All the men of the land were this way except one
who was G'klobet, the silent one, and he was hul-loi-
mie, different, and a wise man in the magic of the Tah-
mah-na-wis.
"Now the men always counciled with the Tyee Too-
muck, the chief of the demons, who is Ka-ke-hete, and
who does many evil things, and they forgot the Tyee
of all, the Sak-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis, who is the spirit
of good deeds, and who is wise and good to men.
"When the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis saw these
things, he was very angry and said, 'I will call Skam-
son, the great thunderbird, and we will have rain and
MADE MAGIC TO CALL THE SAH-HA-LE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS. 101
THE GREAT WATERS.
103
the water will cover the land and kill these men who
are evil in their minds.'
"So then the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis called Skam-
son, the Thnnderbird, and they held a council about
this deed, and when the council was done Skam-son
shook his wings and the rain came for many, many
days, and the rivers were full of water and
then overflowed.
"G'klobet, the silent one, saw these
things and he made magic medicine to call
the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis, and then he
said, 'Why do the rivers rise while the rain
still falls? Soon there will be water on all
the land. What shall I do for meat?'
"Then tin1 Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis said
this talk, 'Listen, G'klobet, the silent one.
These men are evil men and they forget the
Sak-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis, the great Tyee,
and see only Ka-ke-hete, who is the chief of
A|pe1S?n evil deeds. Because of this, the thunderbird,
Skam-son, shakers his wings and the rain falls. Now
yon who are G'klobet, the silent one, are not like these4
men, for you rail Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis, the chief
of all, and for this you shall be told what to do. Go
and get your largest canoe, and put all of your spear*
104
TOTEM TALES.
and nets in it. Put your mats and your bear robes,
and all your fine furs in, and plenty of meat and Kam-
as. Tut your wife and all your children in, and leave
room for a rope of cedar bark that shall reach half as
far as a boy can walk in one sun. Then get in your
canoe and wait.'
" The great water will rise and come up over the
MAKING CEDAR BARK ROPES.
land, and then it will come up to the top of the moun-
tains. When it comes up to the top of the highest
mountain, then tie your rope to the highest rock and
wait again. The waters will come up over the top of
THE GREAT WATERS.
105
the highest mountain and up until you have no more
rope, and then it will stop and go back again until
there is no water but the rivers and the great water
as it is now. I have spoken.'
"And then the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis went
awav.
G'KLOBET LOADED HIS BIGGEST CANOE.
"So then G'klobet, the silent one, did all these
things that the Tah-mah-na-wis had told him and
waited, and still Skam-son, the thnnderbird, shook his
wings for the rain to fall until it came to the top of the
mountain and then G'klobet tied his rope.
106
TOTEM TALES.
"When the other people saw what G'klobet, the si-
lent one, was doing, they loaded their canoes and
made cedar bark ropes, too, and when the water came
to the top of the mountain they tied their ropes to the
rock, too, and as the water came up they all let rope
THE OTHER CANOES DRIFTED AWAY.
out until they had no more left, and then the canoes
broke loose and floated away, all but G'klobet, who
had much rope, and whose canoe did not break loose,
but staid there and came down by the top of the moun-
THE GREAT WATERS. 107
tain, and so G'klobet got back to his home again when
the waters went away.
"But the canoes that broke loose drifted away, and
came down in other places, and so all the tribes of
men came from these, and because they were scat-
tered, and because they saw that Ka-ke-hete, the chief
of the demons, could not stop the water from rising,
they became better men and talked with Sah-ha-le
Tah-mah-na-wis, and became wise.
"And so that was how the water left the sign on
the mountain tops, and how the men came to be all
over the land."
So said the Talking Pine, the Wise One, as I sat by
his feet and watched the smoke of the Chinoos blow
away with the wind, there by the Lake of the
Mountains.
O-NIGHT we will have the tale of
the ('row Children, T'solo, the wan-
derer," said the Talking Pine, when I
had pulled the canoe up on the sand
and sat down by his feet.
"Then I listen, Wise One," I answered.
"This is a story for children who do not mind their
parents," said the Wise One, "and it is a warning to
them to be good and listen to the voice of their elders,
for who knows but they may all be changed to crows
at some time, if they do not?
"The tale is like this:
"Once there was a woman who was the wife of a
chief, and who had two children; she loved the chil-
dren very much and always took them with her when
she went away from the lodge.
108
THEY ANSWERED WITH THE VOICES OF CROWS.
109
w
THE CROW CHILDREN. Ill
"One time in the moon of the falling leaves she took
them in the canini and went across the water to get
some spruce boughs which the Indians use to collect
salmon eggs on, as you know, T'solo.
"She pulled the canoe up on the sand and told the
LEFT THEM BY THE CANOE.
children to stay close by it while she went into the
woods and cut the spruce boughs, and then she went
away and left them there.
"When she came back both the children were gone,
and had only left tracks in the sand up to the edge of
112
TOTEM TALES.
the woods. The mother followed into the woods, and
called them many, many times, and always they an-
swered her with the voices of crows.
"Now the mother was very sad when she found they
were lost and she called her Tah-mah-na-wis to help
AND SO IT WAS HE CARVED THE TOTEM POLE.
her find them, but the Tah-mah-na-wis told her they
had walked into the woods, and that the Skall-lal-a-
toots had changed them into crows; that they must
always stay in the woods, and could not be changed
THE CROW CHILDREN.
113
back into their proper form again because of the magic
of the Skall-lal-a-toots, and so they were lost for all
time.
"So then the mother went back and told her hus-
band and wept many, many days, and the chief had
t h e s t o r y
carved in the
great Totem
pole in the
front of the
lodge, a n d
r%„ there you will
see it to-day,
and it is- cut in all the totem poles of the Crow totem
as a warning to all children not to disobey their pa-
rents, and it can be read there by all who can read
carvings."
This was the story of the Crow children, and it is
a good story to remember, for it is not good for chil-
dren to disobey. When the Pine had finished I said
"Klook-wah" to him and paddled away across the Lake
of the Mountains to wait until another time.
The Crow.
HEX I next saw the Wise One I had
been on a long journey on the big
water, and there on a lonely island
away toward the home of Colesnass,
the winter, I had looked upon Kit-si-
nao, the Stone Mother, who sits in the side of the rock
and weeps always. I did not know the story of this,
though I knew it must be a story, for the mother would
not be changed to stone for nothing, and have to stay
there always, instead of going to the land of ShadoAvs,
and living there again, as all people do who have not
done bad deeds.
So then I said to the Talking Pine, "Do you know
the story of the stone woman, Kit-si-nao, who sits
alone on the mountain, AYise One?"
"Yes, I know of Kit-si-nao, the one who weeps alone,"
114
smmsmmm^
115
KIT-SI-NA-O, THE STONE MOTHER.
117
said the Talking Pine. "Would you like to hear the
story, T'solo, the wanderer?"
"Tell the- story, Wise One. I listen."
"Then this is the tale:
"Once, a long time ago, this woman, Kit-si-nao, lived
SKOOLT-KA HAD ONLY ONE CHILD.
there on that island and was happy, for she had many
sons and daughters to make her heart glad, and she
loved them dearly.
"This was good, for it is well to have many sons and
daughters.
J
118
TOTEM TALES.
"Kit-si-nao was of the Crow totem, and in the same
island was another mother who was of the totem of
Hootza, the wolf, and who was Skoolt-ka.
"Now this woman, Skoolt-ka, the wolf, had only one
little child, and this one was small, and not strong,
THE TRIBE OF HOOT-ZA MET IN COUNCIL.
like the children of Kit-si-nao, the crow, but Skoolt-ka
loved it all the more because it was all she had, and
was small and weak.
"One day in the moon when birds nest, this child
was playing by the lodge door when Kit-si-nao came
THE TRIBE OF HOOT-ZA RAN TO HER LODGE. 119
KIT-SI-NA-O, THE STONE MOTHER. 121
by and she laughed at it, and made fun because it was
a weak child, and did not run like her children did.
"Then the child began to cry, and Skoolt-ka came
and heard the words of Kit-si-uao. Then her heart
was heavy because of this, and she sat and mourned
a long time, so long that her Tah-mah-iia-wis, Hoot-za,
the wolf, came and said, 'Why do you wee])?'
" 'I weep because my thoughts are heavy with the
words of Kit-si-nao,' said Skoolt-ka.
" 'And what are the words of Kit-si-nao, give me the
talk,' said Hoot-za, the wolf, and then Skoolt-ka gave
him the talk of Kit-si-nao this way:
"'Ho! Ho! You are the little one! You do not run.
Your feet are tender, and the stones hurt you. You
must ride on the back of your mother. You have no
brothers and no sisters and you are always by your
mother's door. Why do you not play with the other
children? Because you are afraid. Ho! Ho! You are
the little one.'
"When Hoot-za, the wolf, heard of this talk, he was
angry, and called all of the tribe of the wolves and they
came and sat in a council, and Hoot-za, the chief, told
them of the words of Kit-si-nao and asked what should
be done.
"The tribe of Hoot-za then thought deeply, as the
122
TOTEM TALES.
council pipe was smoked, and then it was decided that
Kit-si-nao must be punished for her bad deed of laugh-
ing at a little weak child, so the wolves ran to her
lodge and killed and ate all the children of Kit-si-nao,
the crow mother, because of her bad deeds.
THE STONE WOMAN.
"Then Kit-si-nao was very sad and went up on the
mountain where you saw her and wept all the rest of
her days for her children who were gone.
"As she sat there, Colesick, the keeper of the dead,
came and changed her into stone, and left her there,
KIT-SI-NA-O, THE STONE MOTHER. 123
as a warning to all people not to laugh at those who
are small and weak, and that is why you saw Kit-si-
nao, the stone mother, sitting there weeping on the
mountain-side by the big water.
"Now, T'solo, the wanderer, the moon makes a short
shadow, and soon Spe-ow will open the daylight box
and your paddle is tired from laying in the canoe.
Come again when Polikely, the night, is young, and
we will have other tales that it is well to know."
So then I left the Talking Pine, and went to my
lodge to wait until another time, and to think about
Kit-si-nao, the stone mother, and her deeds.
^[IMmJohlA
err vl
HE Talking Pine nodded in friendly
greeting as I got out of the canoe
and came up to my usual place at the
foot of the great tree:
"Klahowya, T'solo, the wanderer,
it is well that you came to-day, for to-day the pines
will sing the rain song, and you shall sing with us,
for it is a good song and one to know."
"So be it, Wise One, I will learn the rain song, that
I may know it when I am in other lands. It is a good
song to know when the air is dry, and you can get no
water for your throat. I will learn the rain song of
you, Wise One."
"Come, T'solo, the wanderer, and sit at my feet,
where I can spread my arms over you and keep the
rain away.
"Now when the wind comes all the pines will sing
124
THE RAIN SONG.
125
the wind song and dance the wind dance before they
sing the rain song. You know, my friend Tsolo, that
the wind must always come to help the pines sing, so
be not impatient to hear the rain song until the wind
can help us."
So I sat down by the feet of the Talking Pine, and
SAT AND SMOKED MY PIPE.
smoked my pipe and waited for the coming of the wind
to see the wind dance, and hear the rain song.
Soon the wind came slowly out of the Southwest
and the pines began to sing and the wind sang with
them. At first, so softly I could scarce hear it, and I
126
TOTEM TALES.
asked the Talking Pine, "Do you sing, Wise One?"
"Yea, listen," answered he.
Then I heard the wind song, for it had gathered
strength as all the pines began to sing, and I could
hear it very plainly. Then the pines all began to dance
and to swing their long arms in time with the song,
and to sway and sing until they were all mad with
the dance, and 1 thought they would fall.
The song was wild and
mournful, as it always is,
and they sing it in the lan-
guage of the pines, so one
must know their talk to
learn the words they sing.
I heard them calling
the rain to come out from
behind the clouds and
sing with them. Then the
rain rode down with the
on the pines, but most
Flowers and Grasses.
wind, and some rested
of it went on down and sung with the flowers and the
grass; for the rain, you know, is restless and cannot
stay long in one place.
The pines all love the rain and always sing the rain
127
THE RAIN SONG. 129
song when they see it coming in the clouds, so it will
stop and sing with them.
For a long time the pines and the rain sung to-
gether, then the rain went away, and the wind wTent
with it, and the pines were left all alone.
The wind, you know, is never tired, and travels all
the time, so the pines always call the wind to help
them dance, and they always go to sleep when the
wind goes away, and the sun wraps his warm blanket
around them.
"It was a good dance," said the Talking Pine, when
they had finished and the wind had gone.
"Come again, T'solo, the wanderer, and I will show
you other things, and sing other songs, but now I
sleep."
Then I got in my canoe and crossed the Lake of the
Mountains, and left the Talking Pine to sleep out his
sleep until another time.
1
'SOLO, wanderer, it is a good night for a tale;
Snoqualm makes a path on the water, and the
Skal-lal-a-toots put his picture in the la~ke. Wah-wah-
hoo, the frog, sings for his wife among the rushes and
the night people call from the shadows of the pines
with many voices. It is a night for a tale that has no
blood in it, for the smell of blood in the mind is not a
good smell with the air of a night such as this. It is
a smell for daytime and stories of war, not for times
of peace and the full leaf of trees.
"There is a story that goes with the night well, and
it is a good tale to know, for it tells of the folly of the
young and how it is better to listen to the word of
those who are old, and who, by their age, have learned
much wisdom. Wisdom is a good thing and it is only
the old who are wise, for they are full of years.
"To-night, then, we will hear of Wah-wah-hoo, the
130
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
131
little singer who lives among the rushes over there in
the lake."
This, then, the great Wise One told me about the
frog, and how he came to be a frog, and you will re-
member that the frog is a little man, and not kill him
when you see him, for some day he will be changed
back to his proper shape
again, and there will be no
more frogs. It is this way:
"A long, long time ago, so
long that the oldest man can-
not remember, there was a
great chief, who was the rul-
er of everything.
"This man was the king of
all men, and all birds, and
all animals and ruled the
world and all in it except an-
other chief, whose name was
Klack-a-mass, and who was always at war with the
great chief.
"After many years these two got tired of so much
war and held a great council talk, for they were In-
dians, and Indians always have a council when there
is an important question to decide.
The Great Chief.
132
TOTEM TALES.
"This council lasted for many clays, and before it
was done, the two chiefs had agreed not to have any
more wars.
"Then they smoked the great peace pipe and blew
the smoke to the four winds, so the world would know
SMOKED THE PEACE PIPE.
they were at peace, and there would not be any more
fighting.
"Now Klack-a-mass had a daughter whose name
was Kla-klack-hah, the woman who talks, and the
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
133
great chief had a son whose name was Wah-wah-hoo,
the singer.
"When the peace pipe had been smoked at the great
council, Klack-a-mass thought it would be well for his
daughter to become the wife of Wah-wah-hoo, and
thus make the two
tribes blood relations
and stop any fighting
for all times.
"The great chief
thought that would
be well, too, so it was
all arranged for the
young folks to get
married, without say-
ing anything to them
about it.
"After the council
was over they were
told that on a certain
day they must get married, and thus make the tribes
blood relations, as the Indians say.
"Kla-klack-hah thought it was all right and was
willing to marry Wah-wah-hoo, but Wah-wah-hoo was
very sad, and did not sing his songs any more, for he
Wah-wah-hoo.
134 TOTEM TALES.
had long loved a girl of his own tribe named Hah-hah,
the one with the bright eyes.
"When Wah-wah-hoo told the news to Hah-hah, she
too was sad, for she loved Wah-wah-hoo dearly, and
they had planned to be married when the salmon ber-
ries were ripe again, which is in the middle of the
summer.
"They talked and made all kinds of plans to escape
the fate that would be theirs if the Tyee insisted on
the mariage of Wah-wah-hoo and Kla-klack-hah, but
all these plans were thrown awTay again because they
could not be carried out.
"Closer and closer came the time when Wah-wah-
hoo must leave Hah-hah, and go with Kla-klack-hah,
and soon there was only one day more.
"Then the lovers met in a dell in the forest to say
good-bye and part forever.
"Hah-hah came with her finest dress of tanned and
beaded doeskin on, and wore all her ornaments of
Hiaqua shells, and over her shoulders she threw a
beautiful shawl of woven cedar bark.
"Her hair hung in thick glossy braids and her eyes
shone bright. Her cheeks were red and soft, like the
skin of a peach, and her smile was all sunshine to
Wah-wah-hoo.
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
135
"For a long time they sat and talked there among
the bright flowers that grew in the dell, and then Wah-
wah-hoo said, 'Let us go away in the woods, far away
^ to some other
land and live,
a n d forget
this place we
live in, and
forget Ria-
ls 1 a c k-h a h.
We will find
another land
and live there
always and
be happy.'
"IT a h-h a h
thought for a
time and then
she said,
<Y e s,' a n d
W a h - w a h-
Carried her into the forest. llOO Stood 111)
then and took her in his arms and carried her into the
forest.
"For many davs thev traveled, and at last came to a
136 TOTEM TALES.
great river and a sunny country that was close to the
mountains. 'Here we will stop and build a lodge/ saK^
Wah-wrah-hoo, 'and we will be safe and can live happy
always.'
"So Wah-wah-hoo built a lodge of poles and cedar
bark and fashioned a canoe out of a cedar log, with
fire and the stone hatchet, T'shum-in, and built spears
and traps to catch the wild birds and animals for food.
"Hah-hah wove nets out of the roots of the hemlock
tree for Wah-wah-hoo to catch fish with, and she made
mats of rushes to carpet the lodge, and blankets of the
soft cedar bark to sleep on, and they lived in peace
and happiness.
"Now the great Tyee and all the rest of the tribe at
home did not know that the young people were gone,
so when the wedding day for Wah-wah-hoo and Kla-
klack-hah came around, all the people came to the
place dressed in their brightest robes and ready for a
great merry making.
"Kla-klack-kah wore her wedding robes of beaded
doeskin, trimmed with bright feathers and had her
hair braided in long braids.
"A great feast was made ready and all the people
waited the coming of Wah-wah-hoo to claim his bride.
"The time passed, and though the people waited un-
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
137
til the sun went down, Wah-wah-hoo never came, for
he was with Hah-hah then, hurrying away through the
great forest.
"When the sun went down Klack-a-mass, who was
Kla-klack-kah's father, grew very angry at the way his
daughter had been treated, and sent for the Ilyas Tyee
to find why Wah-wah-hoo did not come.
"The Tyee came, and when Klack-a-mass told him
the trouble, ordered runners to seek for Wah-wah-hoo
and bring him to the
feast at once.
"All night the run-
ners sought and at
sunrise they reported
that Wah-wah-hoo
"Now they looked
was gone. Then the
The Eagle circled high.
for Hah-hah, and she too
Tyee knew they had fled and would not come unless
they were caught, and he grew very angry at his son,
who dared to disobey the word of the great chief, his
father.
"Then he called a council of all the animals, and
birds, and fishes, and told them of the doings of his son.
138
TOTEM TALES.
"To the Eagle he said, 'Fly high and watch for Wah-
wah-hoo, and do not let him pass.'
"To the fishes he said, 'See that they do not go by
you on the waters.'
"He told the chief of the wolves to smell them out.
"The sea gull, the snake, the squirrel, and the chief
of the mosquitos were all told to see that the lovers
did not pass, and all the other wild things were told
to watch that the runaways did not hide.
"Then the council
broke up and the ani-
/^mals began to look
everywhere, and it
seemed that Wah-
wah-hoo and Hah-
hah must soon be
captured and brought
back.
"T'set-shin, the snake, wriggled through the grass
and among the tangle of the berry patches to find
them.
"Tyee Kula-kula, the great bald eagle, circled high
in the air, and looked down over the hills.
"The fishes swam the waters and looked for the
canoe of Wah-wah-hoo.
T'set-shin, the Snake.
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
139
"The squirrels watched among the trees as they ran
up and down seeking nuts and pine cones.
"T'kope kula-kula, the sea ^fffti^t
gull, watched on the sea.
"The chief of the wolves
smelled the ground and soon
found the lovers, but he re-
membered that Wah-wak-Iioo
had once saved his life when
he had been caught fast in a
trap, so he told all the tribe
of wolves not to say where the
lovers were. Tlie S(iuirrel watched.
"The chief of the mosquitos found them too, but
Hah-hah had saved his life
fl\& ^Jk^ once and he, too, told all his
tribe to disperse and not say
3 the young folks had
jone.
"Now Ki-ki, the blue jay,
who is chief of all the Skall-
lal-a-toots, the fairies of the
woods, you know, told all his people to hide the runa-
wTavs, for he was the friend of Wah-wTah-hoo, and so
ttefc *i
The Tribe of the Mosquitos.
140 TOTEM TALES.
the SkalHal-a-toots worked to hide them, and to send
the animals to looking in other places.
"So the animals looked for many days and did not
find Wah-wah-hoo and Hah-hah, and they still lived
in the lodge by the great river.
"But the time came when Colesnass, the winter
wind, came down from his ice lodge far away in the
north, and locked the rivers and the lakes with ice.
"Then Wah-wah-hoo could catch no more fish, and
the snow was so deep he could not hunt, and soon
THE WOLVES SMELLED THE GROUND.
there was nothing left to eat in the lodge, and hunger
came in the door.
"Then Yelth, the raven, who is the keeper of the fire,
came to the lodge and stole the fire, because Wah-
wah-hoo could not give it enough wood to burn.
"Colesick, who is the chief of the dead, came and
took the life of Hah-hah away, and left her dead, and
Wah-wah-hoo was sick in his mind for her.
"WTah-wah-hoo took the body of Hah-hah and went
to the great rock that hangs over the pool in the river
at the loot of the falls and sung his death chant.
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
141
"Then he plunged off into the seething, whirling
pool, far below, to die there, because Hah-hah w^as dead.
"But Wah-wah-hoo did not die.
"The chief of the fishes saw him when he jumped
and he took Wah-wah-hoo, and swimming under the
ice, brought him to the lodge of the Hyas Tyee, his
PLUNGED OFF INTO THE WHIRLPOOL.
father, and there put him on the shore, and called the
Great Chief, who came and found his son.
"Now the chief was still very angry at his son, so he
said, 'You have dared to disobey the will of your fa-
ther, who is the Hyas Tyee, chief of all things. You
142
TOTEM TALES.
went away into the woods and left your bride before
the wedding day. You are not fit for men and I will
change your form. Go and be a frog, and sit in the
mud, and sing
there always, that
I may hear your—
voice and know
that you are
afraid of men.'
"So it was that
Wah-wah-hoo was
changed by his
father's magic in-
to a frog, and now
he sings at night
to mourn for his
dead wife.
"Hah-h ah is
dead, and her
shadow looks for
Wah-wah-hoo, but
cannotfind him,be-
cause he is a frog.
"Hah-hah does not know this, and they say she trav-
els over the swamps at night with a strange white light
The Chief of the Fishes took him.
WHITE MEN CALL HER THE WILL-O'-THE-WISP. 143
WAH-WAH-HOO, THE FROG.
145
in her hand, looking for Wah-wah-hoo, but he is afraid
of the light and jumps into the water, because he is a
frog.
"The white men call Hah-hah the 'Will-o'-th'-Wisp,'
and sometimes they try to talk with her, but then she
only runs away over the swamp and they can never
get near her.
"So now you know who the frog is, and why the Will-
o'-th'-Wisp drifts across the bogs at night, because I
have told you the tale as it was told to me by the Talk-
ing Pine a long time ago, away out close to where the
sun goes down by the Lake of the Mountains.
"You will remember now that the frog's real name is
Wah-wah-hoo and that he sings for Hah-hah to come
to him, when you hear his voice at night."
qHt JJJJiQL
HEN the leaves turned brown, the
third moon after the ripening* of
the first salmon berry, I journeyed
again to the Lake of the Mountains
and smoked the Chinoos until the
moon rose; then I went in my canoe across the
lake, and when the moon was so high as a pine that has
seen but one snow, I sat by the foot of the Talking
Pine, to see the sight of the Kloo-kwallie, and watch
S'doaks, the son of Yelth, the raven, become a Tah-
mah-na-wis-nian.
It was a good sight.
A fire was started and soon made to blaze high, that
the Ma-sah-chee Tah-mah-na-wis would have his power
burned away.
Paints of many colors were brought out and soon all
146
KLOO-KWALLIE, THE MEDICINE DANCE.
147
the dancers were painted so bright that the Evil Eye
was blind. Spud-tee-dock, the protector, was brought
and stood up in the light.
"Listen," said the Talking Pine, and I heard a low
song that came from a long way, and
was faint like the voice of the lake
when the wind ripples its face, and
the Kloo-kwallie was begun.
It was a low-toned song that had
not many words, yet those words
were not in the Twana language,
which was spoken by the tribe of
S'doaks, and the Talking Pine told
me he did not know the words,
though he had heard them many
times when he was young.
Louder it sounded and many
voices joined in, and then the
Klootch-men, who do not dance,
wrapped their bark skirts close
around them, and sat down to beat
drums in time with the chant that
spud-tee-dock. the men were singing.
Like the beat of the surf on the ocean sand the song
rose and fell, louder, and deep, and full, until a great
148 TOTEM TALES.
noise like the sound of the streets in the town of Squin-
tum, the white man across the mountains, came in the
air and filled it.
That was the song of the Kloo-kwallie, the song that
nobody knows except the wild men who dance until
all are hoo-ie, and their eyes stare and see nothing,
like the crazy folks who have looked on the Evil Eye.
With a great roar of voices and the beating of many
drums came the dancers, all in line, and all dancing
slow.
Each one would jump and then stand stiff like a man
carved from wood, and then jump again. Around the
fire they all moved until they looked like black shad-
ows, and the light from the fire went up in the air and
made bright the arms of the Talking Pine, and no light
showed through the circle because so many were
dancing.
After the men had danced for some time, and the
song was fast and the dancing wild, the Talking Pine
whispered and told me to watch now and listen, for
S'doaks would soon be tested by the fire test.
As I watched the dancers seemed to get pelton,
crazy, the white men say, and two ran up to S'doaks,
and caught him, one by the neck and one by the heels,
THEY LOOKED LIKE BLACK SHADOWS.
149
KLOO-KWALLIE THE MEDICINE DANCE.
151
and they carried him to a small lire that was built to
burn slowly.
Over this fire they held S'doaks, with his back close
to it, until it was cracked and burned, and blisters
came, and caused pain that would make any but a
medicine man moan and cry out.
HELD S'DOAKS WITH HIS BACK CLOSE TO THE FIRE.
But S'doaks had strong medicine and laughed while
his back burned.
Then they carried him back and set him down again
in the circle to dance. As he danced around the medi-
cine fire, and suna* the son«' of the medicine Kloo-
152 TOTEM TALES.
kwallie, the Klootehman gave him sticks pointed with
sharp bone, and with these he scourged himself until
the blood ran down and dried black against his skin.
"The other dancers lashed his back and arms with
switches, and put cedar splinters that blazed like a
WITH THESE HE SCOURGED HIMSELF.
torch against his skin, and S'doaks still danced, for his
medicine was strong and his Tah-mah-na-wis made
him so he did not feel his hurts.
Until the moon was straight over the head of the
Talking Pine, the dance went on, and S'doaks fell down
153
KLOO-KWALLIE, THE MEDICINE DANCE. 155
like a dead man, with his eyes open, but he could not
see, for his medicine was gone and he was nowr like
other people and like a man who is mem-a-loose, dead,
you know.
Then the Mid-win-nie men, who do not dance, took
S'doaks and carried him to the medicine lodge and
brought him back to life again,
and in time he got well.
The Talking Pine told me that
/this he must do as many times as
he could, and dance the torture
dance of the Kloo-kwallie again,
before the moon when the birds
sdoaks feii down. nest, and that if he did this, and
his medicine was strong so he would not feel his hurts,
then he would be a new Tah-mah-na-wis man, and be
one of the Mid-win-nie clan and be a doctor.
This I know he did, for I saw him cure a boy who
had looked on the Evil Eye and
was already dead, but the medi-
cine of S'doaks was strong and
brought the boy back to his body,
and.made him alive again.
And this wTas the dance of the Kloo-kwallie that was
danced at the foot of the great Talking Pine.
156
TOTEM TALES.
When it was over I got in my canoe, and crossed
back to my lodge, and waited for word to come again
from my friend, the Wise One, Ka-ki-i-sil-mah, the Talk-
ing Pine.
HE wind was singing a war song
and the lake sang with it, while the
white topped waves were hurrying
against the yellow sand and the rest-
less canoe that bowed and jumped
over the water as it looked at the wind.
The voice of the tribe of the pines came to my listen-
ing ear in a low murmur from all the mountain side,
as they sang the wind song, and the swing of their
arms made music for the wind dance.
The great Talking Pine was dancing too, and did
not stop his song as I came up from the sandy beach
of the Lake of the Mountains, and sat by his feet.
"Rest, T'solo, the wanderer, until the dance is done,
and then we will talk," said the Wise One, and so I
sat down and looked across the lake at the mountains
and at the pines.
The Skall-lal-a-toots are not about when the wind
157
158
TOTEM TALES.
hurries by, and so there were no pictures in the lake,
and it was only a sheet of hurrying, singing water.
When the sun sunk into the great water, and the top
of Takomah, tJie great white mountain, began to get
like the leaf of a rose, then the wind went away, the
A SHEET OF HURRYING, SINGING WATER.
dancing of the pines was done, and the water began
to sleep.
"Now we will hear a tale, T'solo, the wranderer, and
it shall be the tale of a river that is by the home of
Too-lux, the south wind, and it is a good river, for it
THE RIVER FALLS.
ABOUT THE RIVER FALLS.
161
is wide, and deep, and strong. It is the story oi the
river falls, Tuni-chuck, this way:
"Away back in the time of long ago, this river trav-
eled to the council of the waters just as it does now,
but in one place there was a great bridge of stone that
THE DEMONS FOUGHT A GREAT FIGHT.
was built by the Sah-ha-le Tah-mali-na-wis, so that
men could go over it with dry moccasins.
"This bridge was very strong and very beautiful, and
it was planted with (roes and with grass, and there
were flowers and birds there.
162 TOTEM TALES.
"Now in the mountains on each side of the river,
there lived two great Too-muck, or demons, and al-
ways these demons made magic to kill each other, al-
ways, winter or summer, day or night, they made each
his cultas medicine,
"After many, many moons, they fought a great bat-
tle and the air was black with their breath.
"The ground shook with their fight, and their roars
were like the roar of the great water where the waves
come against the sand.
"They breathed fire and threw great mountain rocks
at one another until the people were frightened and
ran away.
"After many suns the fighting stopped and the peo-
ple came back again, but the beautiful valley of the
great river was all changed.
"The grass was dead, the trees were withered, and
the great bridge was gone.
"In the place where the bridge had been was only
a heap of broken and jagged rocks, and over these the
river roared and boiled in anger as it hurried on to
the sea.
"No man could pass this place in his canoe, no swim-
mer could live here for the time of three breaths
among the whirlpools, and ever after the great river
163
ABOUT THE RIVER FALLS. 165
must fret and groan over the rocks of the broken
bridge.
"Far down under the water could be seen the trees
that had stood on the bridge, and the Sah-ha-le Tah-
mah-na-wis has made them to be stone trees, so that
they will always be there, and show where the bridge
used to stand a long time ago.
"And this is how Tum-chuck, the falls in the great
river, came to be there, and why they will always be
there, for the water to sing a war song with as it goes
to the sea.
"I am tired with dancing and talking now, T'solo,
and would sleep. Come again when the night is young
and I will tell you of a great battle of the demons, that
was fought by the banks of this same river before Ka-
ke-hete was chief of all the demon tribe. It is a good
story."
"So be it, Wise One," I answered, "we will have the
demon tale sometime, and now I go to my lodge and
wish you a good sleep."
Then I went with a lazy paddle across the Lake of
the Mountains, and slept until the sun came up over
the great mountains from the country of Spe-ow.
HERE was a time, Siah Ahn-n-n-cut-
ty, the time of the long ago, when
the mountains smoked and fire was
in the air, T'solo, the wanderer, and
of that time there is a tale that we
will know this night."
Thus spoke the Talking Pine when I lit the Chinoos
in the story pipe and the blue smoke came free.
"My ears listen for the tale, Wise One, and the night
comes fast, so speak, and we will know the tale," I
answered.
"It is well; this shall be the tale of the demons this
way, T'solo:
"In the time when the mountains burned there were
no people in the land except the demon people, the
tribe of Ka-ke-hete, and they had thoughts only for
fighting and for evil ways.
166
TALE OF THE DEMONS. 167
"There was a place not far from the place where
the river falls were made, the place where I told you
of the stone bridge, T'solo, and this place was a great
lake like the Lake of the Mountains, but much larger.
"Here was the town of the demons and here they
built their lodges along the water.
"Then demons all had long tails, which were very
strong, and these they used in battle and they always
were fighting.
THE STORY PIPE.
"There was a big demon, who was the worst one,
and was the Tyee.
"This one was very strong and had much magic and
evil thoughts, but he was wise in many ways, and many
times he sat still and thought of other things than
fighting while he smoked his Chinoos.
"Now this wise demon saw all his tribe fighting, al-
ways among themselves, and he said, 'This is not wise,
for sometime they will all kill each other, and there
168 TOTEM TALES.
will be no demons left. It is better to live in peace
and have no more fighting/
"Once in twelve moons all the tribe came together
and held a big council, and at one of these councils
the demon Tyee made a good talk on the evil of all
/%'//'/>*' [6
A BIG DEMON WHO WAS THE WORST ONE.
this fighting and doing other unwise things that the}7
did.
"This kind of pow-wTow coming from the chief of the
tribe was something that the demons could not under-
stand and they thought he meant evil for them, and
169
TALE OF THE DEMONS.
171
so would not be a good chief any longer, so all the
whole tribe of demons got up to light the chief to kill
him for his ways and this kind of talk.
"Now the chief knew that he could not light the
whole tribe, so he ran away to save himself, and all
the demons ran after him.
THE GROUND CRACKED OPEN.
"When he came to the mountains that stood by the
side of the lake he struck the ground a mighty blow
with his tail, and the ground cracked open, so that
the water came rushing in.
172
TOTEM TALES.
"Some of the demons had already got over before
the water came in the open place in the ground, and
others were caught and drowned, and some could not
get across.
"The ones that got across still ran after the chief
of all the demons, and so lie struck the ground again,
THE GREAT RIVER.
and again it cracked and the water rushed in from the
lake. The first few demons got over, but the water
caught many more this time and they were swept
away.
TALE OF THE DEMONS.
173
"Again the chief of the demons struck the ground,
and this time it split clear across the big mountains
and down to the great waters, and through this crack
the water rushed and roared, and made a big river
that is the river of the falls as I told you, and is the
Oregon, when the white men say the name, and the
place of the cracks is called 'The Dalles,' in the talk of
Squintum, the white man.
"T h e river carried
away the lake and it
took the bodies of all the
demons clear away to
the big water where the
sun falls, and now you
can see their bones
sometimes when the
wind makes the great
water dig them out of
the sand there by the
edge of it.
"Now when the demon
ins tan was broken. chief got away and sat
down to breathe, he found that the last blow had brok-
en his tail and that it was -useless.
"So then he leaped across the place of the cracks,
174 TOTEM TALES.
and went home, for there were no more demons to
fight, and so he did not care about his tail.
"From this family of demons there came all the de-
mons of the tribe of Ka-ke-hete and they were taught
not to fight among their own kind, so they did not
need a tail, and now no demon has one, and they
only work evil deeds on others, and are ruled by Ka-
ke-hete, avIio is the whistler.
"So this is the story of the demons, and how the
great river came, and it is a good tale, T'solo."
When the tale was finished I took Esick, the pad-
dle, and went to the canoe to go to my lodge.
As the canoe left the sand the Talking Pine called
after me and said, "Come to-morrow, T'solo, and we
will have other tales, and shall know much wisdom.
Klook-wah, til-la-cum."
And so I journeyed away to my lodge by the Lake
of the Mountains, and thought of these things, and
how the river came.
O-NIGHT we will know of the Evil
Eve, T'solo, the wanderer," said the
great Talking Pine, as I came to my
place by his feet.
"It is well, Wise One, tell the tale
of the Evil Eye while I listen, Ka-ki-i-sil-niah."
So then the tale was told, and it is like this:
"Know yon, Tsolo, the wanderer, that the Evil Eye
is an evil thing, and that it works evil magic on those
who look upon it, and he who has this has also an evil
mind and will do you hurt.
"Now if you make enemies with one who has this
Evil Eye, then he can work his magic spells and do
you great hurt if once you look on his face. This he
may not choose to do at the time you look into his eyes,
but may do it a long time after, and when he is not
near you.
175
176 TOTEM TALES.
"This power he has so strong, T'solo, that if you are
four days journey by canoe away from where he is, he
of the evil eye can yet work his magic and do you harm.
"If a man is under the spell of the evil eye, T'solo,
then he is pelton, crazy, you know, or his feet do not
go as he wants them to, because he cannot make them
step like other people can because of the spell. Or he
may walk and talk as other men, and then fall down
upon the ground and roll there and his eyes stare and
see nothing, and foam comes from his mouth, because
of the evil magic.
"Now in sickness the Ta-mah-na-wis men know what
to do, because they can work spells and find what kind
of animal is gnawing at the sick part and then by
charms they can drive this animal of sickness away,
and make the sick man well, but when a man has
looked on the Evil Eye, T'solo, the wanderer, then
there is nothing to do for him, because no magic, nor
medicine, nor charm is strong enough to break the
spell of the Evil Eye.
"The Mid-win-nie men can do good deeds with medi-
cine, T'solo, for they can bring back the life of a dead
man from Stickeen, the land of shadows, if they make
strong medicine and good charms against Cole-sick,
the keeper of the dead, and this I know, for I have
seen it done.
THE EVIL EYE.
177
MAGIC OF THE EVIL EYE.
179
"With the spell of the evil eye it is not so. There is
no medicine and no charm that will break this spell,
and so the man who has looked on the Evil Eye is no
longer a man, but a man's bod}',
which is mem-loose, dead, and is in the
keeping of a Too-muck, a demon of
evil who is there by the magic of the
Evil Eye, and who is the slave of Ka-
ke-hete, chief of all the demons, and
must do as he savs with the man's
V' "Now when a child is small, T'solo,
the charm of the Evil Eye can not
hurt it, so there is a way to know
when a man has got an evil eye, and
it is this way.
"When a baby comes to the lodge,
strap it on a smooth board of cedar
wood, and then fasten a hanging strap
to the board so the child may be hung-
up on a peg in the lodge pole and be
out of the reach of the Skal-lal-a-toots and always be
easy to find.
"Then a rattle must be hung up in front and the
A Medicine Man.
A Too-muck.
180
TOTEM TALES.
rattlers must be magic rattlers from the medicine
lodge.
"Now when a visitor comes in say to him, 'See, I have
a strong baby who is always of
a smiling face, and laughs at
the sound of the rattle.'
"The visitor Avill walk over to
see the baby and there hangs
the rattle and this he will
shake to see if the baby always
laughs at it. If the baby
laughs then the visitor has
good magic, but if the baby
cries, it is because of the evil
it looks upon in the eye of the
stranger, and it is well to get the visitor outside of
the lodge curtain.
"That is the way to find the Evil Eye,
T'solo, and it can work no spell as long
as it is in the same lodge where the baby
is, but be very careful that you do not
look upon the face of such a man after
he leaves the lodge, for then the spell Medicine Bag.
is on and evil will come unless you always sleep with
a Skal-lal-aye mask hung to the lodge pole over your
Charm Mask.
A BABY OF A SMILING FACE.
MAGIC OF THE EVIL EYE. 183
head, to work the evil away and keep it outside of the
lodge curtain.
"There is a charm to carry in your medicine bag that
is a protection against the magic of the Evil Eye too,
T'solo, the wanderer, but I do not know what this
charm is, and you must give two beaverskins to the
Mid-win-nie man to give it to you.
"So remember, T'solo, wanderer, do not look on the
face of a man who has the Evil Eye if you would walk
straight and never be a pelton Siawash, a crazy man."
This the Talking Pine said of the Evil Eye, as I sat
there, and when he was finished I got in the canim and
journeyed back to my lodge by the Lake of the Moun-
tains, to think heavy thoughts about the evil ways
of these things.
^skmmte£=^m£^m
NCE there was a great hunter who
<
4
i
I
t
was Touats," said the Talking Pine,
when I asked him for a story.
"Now this man Touats was a great
rogue, as well as a great hunter, and
he did some deeds that a good hunter should not do,
because a good hunter loves the wild things, and is of
a broad mind, and a keen eve, and is a good man to
the world. But this man Touats was not a good man,
for he did not do good deeds.
"This is why:
"Once he traveled a long distance to see the great
chief of all the tribe of Hoots, the bear, and came to
his lodge.
"Hoots, the bear, was not at home, but his wife told
Touats, the hunter, to come in and wait, and soon the
bear would come back. So Touats went in and began
184
FOUND HER WITH TOUATS AT THE SPRING. 185
CONCERNING A HUNTER AND A BEAR.
187
to talk to the wife of Hoots, the bear, and made love
to her, but she did not like Touats, the hunter, and
when Hoots came back she
told him of the way Touats
had talked to her.
"This made Hoots very an-
;rv and he drove the hunter
The hunter did not iro
away.
The Grouse.
very far, but waited in the
woods until he saw the bear
go on a journey and then he came back to the lodge of
Hoots and again made love to his wife.
"This time she was not angry with the hunter, but
listened to his songs for a long time,
and then Touats went away before the
bear came back.
"When Hoots came back he found
his wife very much confused and afraid
of him, so he suspected that Touats,
the hunter, had been back, and told his
wife that she no longer loved him, but
that she had heard the songs of Touats.
"This she denied, though she knew it was so. Hoots,
the bear, still was not satisfied that she had told him
the truth, and watched her go for wood and water for
Touats.
188 TOTEM TALES.
the lodge, and found that she was gone a long time,
so he tied a magic cord to her robe, and when she did
not come back, he followed this cord and found her
with Touats, the hunter, at a spring.
"Now Hoots was very angry, and to punish his wife
INDIAN DRAWING ON ROBE OF THE HUNTER AND THE BEAR.
for her bad ways he told her he would change her into
a grouse, and so he did, and now she sits in the forest
and mourns all the time because of her bad deeds.
"Then he said to Touats, the hunter, 'You have stol-
en my wife and made my lodge fire cold. You are like
f
^,</^v
/'^J/ > 'J
TOUATS AND HOOTS FOUGHT A GREAT FIGHT. ISO
HOOTS, THE BEAR-HAIDA INDIAN DRAWING. 191
Figure* on the paws are supposed to represent the Hunter and Bear Story.
CONCERNING A HUNTER AND A BEAR. 193
T'set-shin, the snake, who crawls in through the back
of the lodge and bites when your back is turned. You
are not fit to live where there are men, and I am going
to kill you.'
"So then Hoots, the bear, and Touats, the hunter,
fought a great fight for many days and at the end
Touats was dead and Hoots was all alone."
And this was the story of the hunter and the bear
that was told by the Talking Pine, and many times
since that, I, T'solo, the wanderer, have seen the pic-
ture writing of it on many robes and have read it in
the carving on the totem poles of the family of the
bear.
This story is a good story to remember, for it shows
well that those who do bad deeds are sure to be pun-
ished and be very sad when it is too late.
ELL me, Wise One, how did the
blue jay, Ki-ki, come on the earth?"
This I asked the great Wise Pine
when I had put the coal of fire on the
Chinoos in the pipe, and the smoke
was coming blue.
"The tale of Ki-ki, the blue jay, is not a tale of it-
self, but is the tale of Doak-a-batl, the maker, and to
know of Ki-ki, I must tell you the other tale too," an-
swered the Pine.
"Then tell the tale, Wise One, for my ears are open
for the tale and I would know of these things."
"Then if you listen, Wanderer, it is the tale of Doak-
a-batl, this way:
"Many, many winters ago, there were not many men
in the world, and these men were not like the men we
194
DOAK-A-BATL, THE MAKER.
195
see now, for their thoughts were the thoughts of chil-
dren and they had not many wants.
"After a time the great Tah-mah-na-wis, who was
Doak-a-batl, the maker, came up out of the great
water where the Sun has his lodge, and walked on the
land.
"At this time all the people were living in huts and
in holes in the ground, and in hol-
low trees, and among rocks near a
great river of crystal water which
was named Sko-ko-mish.
"Doak-a-batl, the maker, came
by this river and saw the people
living this way, and he said, 'Why
do you live in holes? You should
live in lodges/
"So then he built a lodge of
poles and cedar bark and showed
the people how to do this to make
a house to live in, and they have
built them that way ever since.
"Then Doak-a-batl walked along through the woods
until he came to a place where some Klootchmen were
catching salmon with their hands, and he said, 'That is
not a good way to get fish. Here, T will show you how.'
Doak-a-batl.
196
TOTEM TALES.
So he cut many willow poles and with them he wove
a willow weir out in the river in a fashion that would
let the fish in, but would not let them out again, and
in this way everyone could get many fish, and there
would be no one hungry again, and so the Indian
women remembered what Doak-a-batl had showed
them, and they still know how to build the willow trap
for salmon.
"When this was done Doak-a-batl went on and soon
saw some
men on a ce-
d a r log,
floating
along in the
water, so he
made them
come to the land. Then he made a fire in the
log, and burned it out inside, and he made T'shu-
min, the canoe-chopper, and showed them how to cut
away the wood, and there was a canoe made for them
to travel in. That is how the red men found out how
to make canoes. Then Esick, the paddle, was made
and all was ready.
"Then Doak-a-batl, the maker, went on and came to
the place which is now a marsh, and which is where
T'shumin, the Canoe Chopper.
197
DOAK-A-BATL, THE MAKER.
199
the river ends and the great water is, and there he
slipped and fell.
"Then he cursed the land and made the water come
up and cover it, and there was a great marsh for a play-
ground for Ena-poo, the muskrat, who sits in the sun
A MEDICINE MAN DANCING.
like a little brown ball, and who builds a lodge of
rushes and mud.
"When the marsh came then Doak-a-batl put the
rushes and the cat-tails in it, and showed the women
how to make mats for the lodge floor out of them, and
200
TOTEM TALES.
so it was a good deed, for it punished the land and
made good mats for men.
"After this was done Doak-a-batl went on and soon
heard a great noise, and went to see what it was. There
he found a medicine man who was dancing a foolish
dance, and was singing 'ki! ki! kiP
"This medicine man had much blue paint on and his
hair was tied up so it stuck straight up on his head,
and he was not a good sight to look at, so Doak-a-batl
said to him, 'What are you doing?'
"The medicine
man said, 'I am
making medi-
cine/
"Then Doak-
a-batl said, 'You
are foolish, and
do not know the ways of medicine, you are not wise
in the ways of Tah-mah-na-wis, and are not fit to be
of the Mid-win-nie clan. For this I will change your
form. Go and be a blue bird, Klale-kula-kula, and be
known to men by your song, Ki! Ki!'
"So by the magic of Doak-a-batl the foolish Tah-
mah-na-wis man was changed and there was Ki-ki, the
blue jay, and he was the first one of that kind of bird.
Enapoo, the Muskrat.
Fiiiif'h n
LEFT THREE BIG TRACKS.
201
DOAK-A-BATL, THE MAKER. 203
"That is why the blue jay has a crest, because the
hair is his top-knot.
"Then Doak-a-batl journeyed on to the north and
close by the mountains that are by the great water,
he stepped on a big flat rock, and left his tracks, three
times, and there you will see it now, so that if men
forget his deeds, they will always remember them
again when they see the tracks of Doak-a-batl in the
rock.
"From this place nobody knows where he went, and
so Doak-a-batl is gone from the minds of men, and
they do not know how he looks, and remember only
his deeds."
This was the story of Doak-a-batl as I listened to the
tale from the Talking Pine, there by the Lake of the
Mountains, in the land of T'set-se-la-litz, the country
of the Sundown, a long time ago.
;gy i-ujuujj:
J
HEN the world was young and dark-
ness ruled everything, a strange
thing happened," said the Talking
^ — <p>^ Pine, as I came and sat down in my
accustomed place to listen to the
tales.
"And what was this strange thing, Wise One?" I
asked.
"It was this," said the Talking Pine, "this, the birth
of the Sun."
"I would hear the tale, Wise One," I answered, and
then he told me of this happening:
"A long, long time ago, the world was in darkness
and people did not have the sun and moon in the sky
to give them light. At this time there was an aged
204
-Pkkl*<lt>
FOUND HIS BROTHER OCCUPYING HIS PLACE.. 205
BIRTH OF THE SUN. 207
woman who had a son, who was a bright, cheerful boy,
and was much loved by his mother.
"This boy went to see his grandmother at one time
and stayed with her many days. When he started
home again through the forest he was stolen by Ka-
ke-hete, the chief of the demons, and carried away
beyond the mountains, where, if any one tried to fol-
low, the mountains would close together and crush
whatever was between them.
"While he was in the country of the demons the
boy learned much magic and became a great Tah-mah-
na-wis man, and then by his magic powers, found a
way out of the country and back to his own tribe
again.
"Now when this boy was stolen, his mother was very
sad and mourned for many days, because she thought
she would never see her son again, and to comfort
her in her loneliness, Spudt-te-dock, the protector,
gave her another son.
"The second son also grew to be a bright boy, and
was loved by all who knew him, and loved most by his
mother.
"Now time went on, and after many snows had
passed, the first son came back and found his brother
208
TOTEM TALES.
occupying his place at home. Instead of welcoming
his brother, the wanderer became angry at him, and
said he would change him into the moon, and he
should be chief of the night, while he would use his
magic and change himself into the sun and rule the
day. This he did, and the first day began.
"As the older brother, who was the sun, climbed up
the sky, it began to get very hot, for he was very an-
gry and shone fierce and bright.
"Soon the rivers dried up, the
grass and trees wilted, and the
people began to die of the heat.
"When the sun saw these
things, he saw that he was too
strong, so he
changed
things
about and made his younger and
weaker brother be the sun, and
he took his brother's place as the
moon, and things went along all right as they do to
this day.
"Now you can see the man in the moon on any bright
night, and if you could see hard enough, you could
see the boy in the sun, but the sun is too bright to look
at and the boy is not easy to find. This, then, is how
the days and nights started."
THE SUN BROTHER.
209
KT'
^^UFOP^^
BIRTH OF THE SUN.
211
So said the Talking Pine, there by the Lake of the
Mountains, a long time ago, and he is wise and knows
how all these things come about.
LONG time ago the world was differ-
ent from what it is now. There was
no light, no sun, no moon to shine,
and no stars to twinkle at night, no
big pine trees, and nothing was as it is now. The peo-
ple went about in darkness, and did not know what
light was.
"Would you like to know how it was all changed
about so that we now have a beautiful world to live in,
instead of a barren one that is all dark?"
So said the Talking Pine when I got out of my canoe
and sat at the foot of the great tree by the Lake of the
Mountains.
"Yes, Wise One," I answered, t"tell me how these
things were changed, and how it all happened, for I
212
SPE-OW AND THE SPIDER. 2l3
would know more of the world and its people who lived
before I was born."
"It is well," said the Great Tree, "now sit by my feet
and listen, and I will tell yon the tale this way:
"When the world was all in darkness, it was ruled
over by a strange chief, whose name was Spe-ow, the
grandson of Ki-ki, the blue jay.
"They say that Spe-ow was once an Arctic fox, and
that Ki-ki, his grandmother, was not satisfied with
him that way, and so changed him into Spe-ow, who
was a man.
"Now Spe-ow was a very strange man to look at, be-
cause he was different from all other men. He was a
short, fleshy man, with ears like a fox. His eyes were
jet black, but were not like our eyes, for they were
placed at the end of horny knobs that stuck out from
Spe-ow's brow. A lobster has eyes like the eyes of
Spe-ow.
"In his mouth were two great tusks like the fangs
of a cougar.
"His nose was sharp and pointed, and he wore a
long white beard that reached below his waist.
"For covering he wore a coat made of the skins of
the Mountain Goat, and the four buttons on this coat
were made of four live blue jays.
214
TOTEM TALES.
"I said Spe-ow was a small man, but really he was
a very big giant, only he was a great deal smaller than
the other giants who lived at the same time that
Spe-ow did.
"Spe-ow could change himself into any shape he
wanted to, and could change the shape of other things
as well. He could cut himself to pieces and put him-
self together again, and do many
other wonderful things. His body
could be killed and skinned, but thai
would not kill Spe-ow, because of his
magic.
"This, then, is the strange man
who was the chief of the people when
the world was all in darkness.
"Now it happened that Spe-ow
was walking along one day and
>f came to a place where a beam of
light came down from above, and
there he saw a rope which hung down from some-
where. Then the blue jay came along and said, 'Let us
see what this is.'
"So Ki-ki, the blue jay, flew up a little way and
called to Spe-ow to climb up on the rope. Up climbed
Spe-ow, and up flew the jay, until at last they came
THE MOON CHIEF FOUND HIM IN THE TRAP. 215
SPE-OW AND THE SPIDER.
217
to a hole in the sky, and climbed out into another
country, which was much like this world is now.
"Spe-ow did not know what might happen to him, or
whom he might meet in such a strange country as this
was, and thought he had better look around a bit.
"So he changed himself into a beaver and went into
a swamp that was close by, to wrait and see what might
happen.
"While he was traveling through the swamp in the
shape of a beaver poor Spe-
ow got caught in a trap and
was held fast until the moon
chief, who is S'noqualm, came
and found him.
"Now S'noqualm thought
he had caught a nice, fat bea-
ver when he found Spe-ow,
so he took his club and killed
Spe-oAv's beaver body, and took it to his lodge, where
he skinned it, and stretched the hide over a bent wil-
low stick to dry, and hung the body up in his lodge to
wait until he should want some beaver soup.
"Though his beaver body was dead, Spe-ow was still
alive, and he thought he would wait and see what the
moon chief would do next.
Kl-ki, the Blue Jay.
218
TOTEM TALES.
"While Spe-ow waited, the chief of the spiders came
into the lodge of S'noqualm and by their talk Spe-ow
found that it was he who had lowered the rope down
from the sky to the earth, where Spe-ow found it.
"By and by S'noqualm and the spider went out of
the lodge and S'noqualm
soon came back carrying
the Sun, the stars, and the
box that held the daylight.
These he put on a shelf
and again went out. Spe-
ow thought that was a good
chance to make his world
bright, so he made himself
come to life again, and
changed himself back to
his proper shape. Then he
took the Sun and put it un-
Spe-ow threw up the Sun. (]er J^g arm# The Stars he
put under the other arm, and took the box that was
full of daylight in his hands.
"Then he ran for the hole in the sky, calling to his
grandmother, Ki-ki, the blue jay, to follow him. On the
way he pulled up three great pine trees, which by his
magic he made small like little bushes. With all these
SPE-OW AND THE SPIDER.
219
things he started down the rope with Ki-ki, but he was
in such a great hurry that he dropped the stars and
they scattered all about and stuck to the sky, and
there you will see them to-night.
"Spe-ow reached the ground safely with the other
things, and at once opened the
daylight box and threw the Sun
up in the air, and there was the
first day on earth.
"Then he started the pine
trees to growing, and soon they
covered the whole land like they
do in that country now.
"When S'noqualm found that
some one had stolen the Sun, and
the stars, he was very angry, and
went to the hole in the sky and
looked down. There he saw Spe-
ow at work planting the trees,
and saw the Sun high up in the air, where Spe-ow. had
thrown it, so he started to climb down and get them
back again.
"lie only climbed a little way when the rope broke
and S'noqualm fell down to the ground, and Spe-ow,
by his magic, changed S'noqualm and the rope into
S'noqualm fell to the Ground.
220
TOTEM TALES.
stone, and you can see them there to-day, not far from
the mountains, and in the great pile of rocks is a face
that is the face of S'noqualm, the moon chief.
"Now the moon chief, being dead, made the sky
dark, and there was no moon any more until the great
Tah-mah-na-wis saw that it was
missing and changed the daughter
of a wicked old SkalHal-a-toot into
the moon and put her in the sky
country. She is still there to make
the night light.
"When the spider chief found that
his rope was broken and gone, he
called his tribe of spiders together,
and let them down to look for his
lost rope. You can see the spider
people even now on warm summer
days sailing along on their little
ropes that break loose from the sky
and let them fall, too.
"They can never find the chief spider's rope, because
it was turned to stone by the magic of Spe-ow.
"When Spe-ow got everything to suit him he threw
the Sun up into the air every day, and it fell in the
great water every night. Then Spe-ow would shut the
S'noqualm.
SPE-OW AND THE SPIDER. 221
daylight box and make night, so no one could see him,
and go and bring the Sun back.
"When he got back he would open the daylight box
to make it morning again, and throw the Sun up in the
air.
"This he does to this day.
"Now Spe-ow throws the Sun just the same distance
axery day, but in the winter, when the rains are heavy
and the snow deep in the moun-
tains, the rivers are flooded and it
takes Spe-ow longer to travel from
his lodge to get the Sun, so the
nights are long in the winter.
"People don't care for this, be-
cause they can't work so well in
the winter anyhow, and like to
sleep more.
"In the summer time the weath- The Tyee Spid€r-
er is warm and Spe-ow don't have so much trouble in
traveling, so he gets back to open the daylight box
sooner and the days are a good deal longer, so people
can do more work then.
"Only once has Spe-ow ever been seen by men, and
that was many years ago.
"A party of Indians were camping on Ca-mah-no
222
TOTEM TALES.
island one time, and Spe-ow came upon the bluff above
them. He was covered with a curious light like you
see in rotten wood sometimes, and when the Indians
saw him he was so angry that he kicked half of the
island over on the Indian camp and buried it, and so
only one man escaped, and he told the story of how
Spe-ow looked.
"Now all Indians
who pass by the place
in their canoes mourn
and cry for the dead
ones, who lie under
the water there.
"This, then, is the
story of Spe-ow, who
lives over across the
mountains and is keep-
er of the Sun."
kS1*-
5*1 T ) -•
Spe-ow kicked the Bluff over.
So said the Wise One, the great Talking Pine, who
lives by the Lake of the Mountains, in the land of
T'set-se-la-litz, the country of the sundown.
HEN I sat by the feet of the Talking
Pine the next time, the sun was
just falling down behind the great
waters, and there were long shad-
ows on the Lake of the Moun-
tains. The water was red, like the blood that comes
from the throat of a killed deer, and there was yellow
on the wrater, too, yellow like Pil-chickaniin, the gold
that Squintum, the white man, always seeks.
There was blue in the shadow of the pines and blue
in the sky where the night was coming; but the moun-
tain, Takomah, the one that feeds, was white and cold
over the head of the pines, all white and blue, and very
cold, save the top, and this was red, the red of the sal-
mon berry, the red that a great fire paints on the sky
at night.
It was a good sight, and T watched it there, so high
223
224 TOTEM TALES.
and grand, and all alone above all the little mountains
that reach only to the snow.
As I sat there my thoughts went far away to other
lands, and other mountains, and my body sat still.
Then the Talking Pine spoke, and then spoke again be-
fore I heard him, and this was his speech:
"Know you, T'solo, the wanderer, the tale of the
great white mountain yonder, Takomah, the white one
that feeds, the great chief of the tribe of the moun-
tains?" His voice was far away, like a voice in the
sleep country, where one goes at night, sometimes,
when his body is asleep on the mats in the lodge.
"No,Wise One," I answered, "I do not know the tale
of the great white one yonder, but I see him, once there
with his feet on all the tribe of the mountains and his
head so high that the clouds can only climb half wav.
and again I see him in the Lake of the Mountains,
standing on his head like the pines that are painted
there by the water Skall-lal-a-toots. Tell me this tale
of Takomah, Wise One, while I listen and we smell
the smell of Chinoos burning in the pipe."
"Now-itka, oke-oke klosh; yes, that is good," said
the Great Pine, and then he began the tale this way:
"This tale is a tale of warning, T'solo, and it tells
that it is better to take what we have without grum-
225
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN. 227
bling, and so have a good heart, than to want that
which we have not, and so not sleep well at night for
our thoughts.
"It is the tale of the old man who wished much ilia-
qua, the shell money, and so was taught a great les-
son by Tah-mah-na-wis. This is the way:
"Very many summers ago, when my grand-
father's grandfather was only so big as a little
flower bush, there lived here by the foot of
Takomah an old man, a great hunter and fish-
erman, and one who thought the shell money,
Ilia-qua, the best of all things, and this he
wanted.
"Always the old man thought how to get
more Ilia-qua, and in this he was like the white
man, Squintum, who lives across the moun-
Hia-qua. tains.
"Always this man talked to Tah-mah-na-wis, and al-
ways he said the same thing, 'Where can I get Ilia-
qua?'
"Tah-mah-na-wis is wise and knows it is not well
for men to have a great deal of money; no matter if it
is the red man and his Ilia-qua, or if it is Squintum
and his gold, it is the same, and it makes men hungry
for evil deeds, so the great Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis
228 TOTEM TALES.
did not give to this old man the magic that would
bring Hia-qua, for he knew much Ilia-qua would let
Ka-ke-hete, the chief of demons, into the man's mind.
"The old man sat and looked at Takomah as you look
at it now, and it was white and cold, and it seemed to
know of how this man's great greed for Hia-qua made
him take even the lip and nose jewels of polished Ilia-
qua from starving women when meat was scarce, and
give them tough and dry scraps of Moos-moos, the elk,
in return.
"Now the Tah-mah-na-wis of this old man was Moos-
moos, the elk, and one day as he hunted on the side of
the white one, Takomah, the old man got very tired
and sat down to rest, and as he sat there without any
thoughts but rest, he heard the voice of his Tah-mah-
na-wis, Moos-moos, the elk, and it whispered magic in
his ear.
"This magic told him where to find much Ilia-qua,
so much that he could be the richest of all men and be
a Ilyas-Tyee, a great chief.
"This place was on the top of Takomah, the white
one that feeds.
"When this man knew of the place he went back to
his lodge and said to his wife, 'I am going on a long
hunt,' and then he went away at the coining of night.
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN.
229
"The next night lie made his bed just below the snow
of the mountain, and when the sun came up it found
him on the top.
"He looked down and there he saw a great valley
HE WENT AWAY AT THE COMING OF NIGHT.
in the top of Takomah and all was white with snow
but one place in the middle.
"This place was a deep hole in the black rocks and
in the bottom of it was a lake of black water.
"At one end of the lake were three large rocks, and
230
TOTEM TALES.
they were Tah-mah-na-wis rocks, for one was shaped
like a salmon's head, the next was like a Kamas root,
and the last was like the head of his own totem, Moos-
moos, the elk.
"Now when he saw this, he knew where the llia-qua
THE BLACK LAKE AND THE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS ROCKS.
was, so he took his pick of elkhorn and began to dig
at the foot of the rock that was like the head of Moos-
moos.
"When the pick made a sound against the rock the
first time he struck with it, many otters came out of
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN.
231
the black lake and sat in a circle, aiid lie counted as
many as the fingers of both hands and three more.
"The otters watched him, and at the blow of the pick
that counted their number, all the otters struck the
ground at the same time with their tails.
"This the man did not pay any attention to, but
worked on, and when the sun was just falling into the
great water, he turned over a piece of rock and there lay
many strings
of Ilia-qua.
"There were
many, many
strings, s o
many that he
could not reach
the bottom
with his arm.
"lie would be a rich man and a great Tyee, because
no one else had so much Ilia-qua as this.
"The otters moved back, knowing he was a child of
the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis.
"When he had looked long on the Ilia-qua and he
was sure he had all this for his own, then he put the
strings over his shoulder, one after another, until he
The Elkhorn Pick.
232
TOTEM TALES.
could not walk with more, and started to climb back
and go to his lodge.
"Not one string did he hang on the Tah-mah-na-wis
of the Salmon, or of the Kamas, or the Elk, not one,
but started away.
HE STARTED TO CLIMB OUT.
"The otters plunged back into the black lake again
and began to make the water foam and roar, and this
they did until a great storm came and Tootah, the
Thunder, came, and Rkamson, the Thunderbird.
"Now everybody knows that Colesnass makes hard
fir MHwmhwn
5^?
THE WIND THREW HIM OVER THE ROCKS.
233
OF .
CA
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN. 235
snows in the mountains, but this time Sah-ha-le Tah-
mah-na-wis was angry with the man who loved Ilia-
qua, and so he helped Colesnass and Tootah to make
a very hard storm and he called to the wind to come.
"The wind came and danced around and around, and
took the man and threw him over the rocks and the
snow, but he still held to his Ilia-qua and would not
let it go.
aToo-tah, the thunder, roared, and the wind made
things black and made much noise, and there was an-
other noise, that wTas the great anger of the Tah-mah-
na-wis, and then came the voice of Ka-ke-hete, the
demon, and the small voices of all his tribe.
"All these things said Ilia-qua! Ilia-qua! and they
laughed at the old man and made him afraid, but he
still held to his treasure, and tried to go on.
"The air grew darker and very hot, and much smoke
came and water ran down the mountain. The wind
danced and threw the old man about over the rocks
and the snow banks, and the tribe of Ka-ke-hete
laughed and yelled Ilia-qua! Ilia-qua! Ilia-qua!
"Then the old man lost his way and did not know
which path to take to go to his own lodge.
"Now this man thought to make the anger of the
236 TOTEM TALES.
Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis to go away, so he dropped
one string of his Ilia-qua.
"Just think, T'solo, wanderer, so small was this old
man's mind that he only gave one string of all his
treasures to the great Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis!
"The storm grew harder and the air wTas hot like the
breath of the fire, and all the tribe of the demons
laughed louder, and great noises came on the wind,
and everything said Ilia-qua! Hia-qua! Ilia-qua!
"String by string the old man threw away his shell
money until the last was gone, when he lay down and
went to the sleep country.
"It seemed a long sleep, but in time he woke up and
found he was on the spot where he had camped the
night before he climbed to the top of Takomah.
"He was very hungry and so dug some Kamas roots
and ate them, and then he smoked and had many
thoughts.
"As he sat there smoking he was huloimie, different,
from the man who climbed the great mountain. He
was not cut on the rocks where the wind had thrown
him, and he was not sore like a man who has fallen
down many times, only stiff, and when he moved, his
joints made a noise like a lazy paddle on the edge of
the canoe.
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN.
237
"His hair was long and white and was like the wil-
low roots that tangle together in the wet sand.
"Tah-mah-na-wis, thought the old man. Now he
looked along the side of the great white mountain and
it was changed too. New rocks were there that he had
SMOKED AND HAD MANY THOUGHTS.
never seen before, and in places where many trees had
been there was only clean, white snow now.
"But most of all, he was much changed in his
thoughts and was restful in his mind, for he no longer
wanted Ilia-qua, and riches had no charm for him,
238 TOTEM TALES.
"Takomah, the great white cue, looked down on him
aud was like a brother, and all the world was
glad.
"lie had never wakened on a morning that was
calmer, and never had Takomah shone so bright and
with so many colors.
"He put away his pipe and traveled down the slope
of Takomah, but all was new and strange to him, for
all was changed.
"When the sun painted the top of Takomah as it
paints it now, he came to the foot of the mountain and
there was his own lodge, and before the lodge curtain
sat an old woman who wTas singing a low-toned chant,
and when he looked close, he saw that this old woman
was his wife.
"She told him he had been gone many moons, she
did not know how many, and all this time she had
traded Kamas root and totem plants and now she had
much Hia-qua.
"This old man's mind was not for Hia-qua now, and
he was glad to be at his own lodge and at peace.
"lie gave whatever he had, Hia-qua and good words
alike to all, and the men of all tribes came to him for
his counsel, how to spear salmon, how to catch game,
or how to counsel best with Tah-mah-na-wis.
TA-KO-MAH, THE MOUNTAIN.
239
"So from this thing the old man became a wise medi-
cine man, and was much loved by all for his wisdom
and good deeds, because of his trip to Takomah.
"Then there came a time when he journeyed to
Stickeen, the land of the shadows, and his body sat by
AN OLD WOMAN BY THE LODGE DOOR.
the lodge fire alone, and so ended the old man who once
loved Hia-qua more than life."
"It is a good tale, Wise One," I answered, "and well
to know, for it shows that wisdom is better than all
the gold of Squintum, the white man, who lives across
240
TOTEM TALES.
the mountains, and who tears up the trees and the
grass and builds many great stone lodges all at one
place, that he may make Mah-kook, and by this trading
get much gold. And now I leave you, Wise One, for
the stars say there is not much time left for sleep.1'
T was a night to sit still and smoke,
and not to talk much.
The Lake of the Mountains was
talking a little talk to the sand and whispering to the
willows that hung down and dabbled in its waters and
over the water the faint song of the Skall-lal-a-toots
came, for they were playing among the tall brown
water grass that grew at the end of the lake where
Eim-poo, the muskrat, builds his lodge.
T'zum chuck kula-kula, the spotted water bird, dived
after fishes, and every time he got one he came to the
top of the water and laughed like a man who is crazy,
pelton, you know. This bird is a Loon, in the talk of
Squintum, the white man, who lives across the moun-
tains, and it is a strange bird, for it can sink down in
the water and no man can see it come up again; it is
of the tribe of Ka-ke-hete, and is a demon.
241
242
TOTEM TALES.
For a long time I sat by the foot of the Talking Pine,
and smoked but did not speak, then the Wise One said,
"What are your thoughts, T'solo, the Avanderer, that
you sit down like Wak-wah-hoo, the frog, and say no
word?"
"I have thoughts of the carving that I saw once on
a journey, Wise One, the carving of the Bear Mother."
"Do you know the tale, T'solo?"
"No, Wise One, I have only looked on the carving,
but from this
sight I know
the tale is a
good tale. Do
you know the
story, Ka-ki-i-
sil-mah, wisest
The Spotted Water Bird.
of Pines?"
"Yes, I know the tale."
"Then speak, Wise One, and my ears are open."
"It is the story of the Bear Mother, this way, T'solo:
"There was once a woman avIio was the daughter of
a great chief, and who was very proud.
"One time in the moon when little birds learn to fly,
this woman went with many other women of the tribe
of T'hlingits, to gather shot-a-lilies, the huckleberries
INDIAN CARVING OF THE BEAR MOTHER. 243
THE BEAR MOTHER.
245
that grow in the woods, and which the Indians pat
into cakes and dry for the time of Colesnass, the
winter.
"Hoots, the brown bear, came to gather berries, too,
and the women all made fun of him, because of his
THE WOMEN MADE FUN OF HOOTS.
heavy shape, and his slow ways, and the chiefs daugh-
ter made more fun than any.
"Now Hoots, the bear, got very angry and killed all
of the women except the chiefs daughter, and her he
carried away to his lodge and made her his wife.
246 TOTEM TALES.
"For a long time Hoots, the bear, kept the chiefs
daughter in his lodge, and she came to be like the
bears, too, then a baby was born, and this baby grew
to be the head chief of all the tribe of Hoots, the
brown bear.
"Then a party of the tribe of T'hlingits came through
the woods hunting for meat, and killed Hoots, the
bear, whose eyes were old, and they were going to
kill his wife, but she called out to them, and they saw
that she was not a bear, but a woman, and they took
her back to their lodges.
"In time she told the tale and so everyone came to
know it, and it was cut in the totem poles, and carv-
ings were made that are carvings of the Bear Mother
and the baby that was half man and half bear.
"When she came back to the tribe of the T'hlingits,
the woman married a man of the tribe, and they took
the bear for their totem, and so from them came all
the people that have the bear for their totem now.
"So this is the story of the Bear Mother that you
saw in the carving there on your journey, T'solo, the
wanderer.
"Now it is time for men to sleep, T'solo, and you
must be in your lodge if you will see the sun come
over the mountains in the morning."
\xmMm3L
HOOTS CARRIED AWAY THE CHIEF'S DAUGHTER. 247
THE BEAR MOTHER.
251
So I left the Talking Pine and journeyed to my lodge
across the Lake of the Mountains, and on the way I
saw T'sing, the beaver^ who struck the water twice
with his tail to tell his tribe that a canoe was on the
water, and then he sunk down to the bottom of the
lake and ran to his lodge among the rushes and the
white water flowers.
(Ill the Chinook Language.)
I AH Ahn-n-n-cutty, mitlite Yelth,
yahka klale kula-kula. Okeoke sia-
wash mamuke konaway ictas sia-
wash ticka, pe konce iskuni konaway siawash mamuke,
yahka klatawah spose klap cahr konaway siawash mit-
lite skookum illahee.
Hoots tumtum klosh, pe comtox cahr. hiyu skookum
muckamuek ictas mitlite.
Copo Yelth klatawah yahka tenas kula-kula, pe
konce mesika klatawah siah, yahka tenas kula-kula
nanage cahr yahka Hoots mamuke copo illahee pe
wawa copo Yelth, 'Cahr mitlite yahka Hoots, yowah
skookum illahee pe skookum muckamuek/ pe Yelth
closh nanage copo okeoke illahee. Okeoke skookum
illahee, pe yowah Yelth lolo ict siawash. Konce chaco
252
HOOTS KNOWS WHERE GOOD EATING IS.
253
YELTH AND THE BUTTERFLY. 255
copo ict illaliee kwonesum kahkwah, yowak lolo ict
siawash, pe wake lalie halo siawasli mitlite copo cultas
illaliee.
"Okeoke ict ictas Yelth mamuke siab akn-n-n-eutty,
pe yahka Mas skookum Tah-mah-na-wis kula-kula,
nah?"
TRANSLATION OF YELTH AND THE
BUTTERFLY.*
Long ago lived Yelth, the black bird.
He made (or got) all things that Indians want, and
when he got all men made, he traveled (supposing)
to find where all Indians could live (in a) good
country.
Hoots (the brown bear) knows (or has) good
thoughts and knows where good eating is.
With Yelth traveled the little butterfly, and when
they (had) traveled far the butterfly saw where Hoots
(the bear), (had) dug in the ground, and he said to
*To read the translation verbatim as nearly as it is possible to ex-
press it in English, leave out the words enclosed in parenthesis.
256
TOTEM TALES.
Yelth, "Where lives Hoots, there (is) good land and
good eating" and Yelth looked well on this land.
That was (a) good land and there Yelth carried one
Siawash (tribe). When (the}7) came to one (more)
land like this, there he (Yelth) carried one (more)
THEY SEARCHED FOR HOMES FOR THE TRIBES OF MEN.
Siawash (tribe) and soon no Siawash-(es) lived in bad
countries.
This (is) one thing (that) Yelth did (a) long, long
time ago, and he (is a) good magic (working) bird.
Don't you think so?
S I sat in my lodge by the Lake of
the Mountains the wind called to
me as it hurried by and said this
message from the Talking Pine:
"Come to-night, T'solo, the wan-
derer, when the face of Sno-qualm shows over the snow
of the mountains, for there is to be a Klale Tah-mah-
na-wis, and it is to be here by my feet.
"It is a good sight and may not be seen again in the
time of men, for Squintum, the white man, says the
Klale Tah-mah-na-wis must stop, and Squintum is as
the grass blades for numbers, while the red man is
weaker each year, like a willow that can get no water."
So said the Talking Pine by message brought by the
wind.
I sat and thought on this while the Chinoos burned,
257
258
TOTEM TALES.
Tah-mah-na-wis Wolf Mask.
and when there was no more, I called to the wind and
gave him this message for my friend, the Wise One:
"Say to Ka-ki-i-sil-mah, the Wise One, who stands
alone; say that T'solo, the
wanderer, will come to-
night when the face of Sno-
qualm makes light on the
snow of the mountains, and l/&\*
we will see The sight of the
Klale Tah-mah-na-wis. It
is well, and now the grass dies for want of light, be-
cause of your shadowT on it."
So then the wind went away and I wailed for the
face of KSno-qualm to come over the mountains.
When the little night bird*
without feathers began to fly
after bugs and Polikely Kula-
knla began to call for his
wife from the limb of the
dead pine, I got in the canoe
and journeyed to where my
Tah-mah-na-wis Wolf Mask. friend Stands
"You are in good time," said the Wise One, "for I
hear the sound of many paddles and soon the red men
*The Bat.
259
KLALE-TAH-MAH-NA-WIS. 261
will build the dancing fire, and we will see the magic
dance, the Klale Tah-mah-na-wis, that is part a secret
that nobody knows but the red men who are of the
black magic totem."
And so I sat and waited until the red men came.
Soon many canoes were drawn up on the sand and
many men came around in the open place by the feet
of my friend, the Wise One.
A fire was made and the smoke went up and hid the
top of the Talking Pine with its blackness and the
night was bright with firelight. Then many men sat
where the light would shine on them and some went
out in the darkness, and from these we soon heard a
chant.
"That is the song of Klale Tah-mah-na-wis, the Black
Magic," said the Wise One, "and soon we will see the
dance, for they are ready to begin."
Then came a strange sight.
One man came running up by the fire, then another,
and still others, until there were as many as all the
fingers of both hands and that many more, and some
of them were very strange, for they were painted with
bright paints and had no blankets on.
Each of these was led by another man who wore
262
TOTEM TALES.
his robes and held a long siring of skin and to this a
painted man was tied.
The painted men each wore a mask and made strange
noises, so I said to the Wise One, "Why is
this, and what does it mean, Wise One?"
"It is Klale Tah-mah-na-wis, the Black
Magic, and each man who is painted is to
TahTiaskna"WiS be a bird or an animal in the dance, and
all will be made members of the clan of Black Magic
before the dance is done, and that part we cannot see,
for it is secret and no man may look upon it if he is
not of the Black Magic clan too, so when this time
comes you must get in your canoe and go to your lodge
or the red men may kill
you, for they are pelton
with the dance, and do not
know what they do."
So said the Talking Pine.
Now I looked close and
listened, and so I heard the
voice of Ki-ki, the blue jay, ^ ^i^x\£9
and the VOice Of Tyee Kula- Thunderbird-Tah-mah-na-wis Mask.
kula, the great gray eagle, and many other voices,
and these voices came in the chant of the painted men.
I saw one who lumped like Wah-wah-hoo, the frog,
A SKALL-LAL-A-TOOT.
WOODEN FIGURE USED IN THE KLALE TAH-
MAH-NA-WIS DANCE. L63
KLALE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS.
265
one who ran like T'sing, the beaver; another was like
Itswoot, the black bear, and one like Hoots, the brown
bear, and ilootza, the wolf, was another.
These 1 could see by their acts, and
by the mask they wore over their
heads, and there were many more,
like Skamson, the thunderbird, and
Yelth, the raven, and all were
dancing.
Tah-mah-na-wis Wolf
Mask. As I sat and looked at the dance 1
saw Ilootza, the wolf, run at a man and snap with his
mask, like the real wolf does, and Hoots, the one who
was the brown bear,
danced on his feet and
swung his arms as the
boar does when he
stands on two legs.
The one who was
T'sing, the beaver,
ran on his hands and
feet and gnawed at
Tah-mah-na-wis Mask. Slicks with Ms mask',
so all could know he was T'sing, the beaver, and the
one who was Skamson, the thunderbird, made his arms
go in the air like the Avings of Skamson and beat on a
266
TOTEM TALES.
drum to make the song of Toot ah, the thunder, and all
knew who he was.
All these men danced around the fire for a long time,
the ones who wore no masks holding the strings fast-
ened to the painted ones, who were the animals, and
THE DANCERS SAT DOWN.
they did many things that made all who saw them
laugh, because they did like birds and animals do, and
there was no evil.
When the moon, Sno-qualin made all the shadows
short, and the dancing fire had burned low and was
KLALE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS.
267
red, then the dance stopped, and all the rest of the red
men except the dancers got in their canoes and began
to paddle away.
The dancers
sat down and be-
gan to chant a
low-toned song,
and then the
Talking Pine
spoke, "It is time
to go aw a y,
T'solo, for now
the red men do
secret t h i 11 g s
that no man may
see and live, if he
is not of the
Black M a g i c
clan. I cannot tell
you of these
things and you
would not be
wise to stay here,
The Thunderbird— Tah-mah-na-wis Mask.
so go in your canoe and do not come back until to-
morrow night, for these men will soon be like men who
268 TOTEM TALES.
have looked on the evil eye, and it is not good to
see."
So then I got in my canoe and journeyed to my lodge
across the Lake of the Mountains, and left the red men
there singing the chant. That night I did not go to
the sleep country, but lay on the lodge mats until Spe-
ow threw the Sun up and opened the daylight box, and
all night the sound of the chant came across the lake
on the wind, sometimes low and far off, and sometimes
wild and fierce, and all night the top of the Wise One
was red with the fire-light that burned for the Klale
Tah-mah-na-wis.
What deeds were done there I do not know.
LA-HOW- YA, T'solo, the wanderer; it
has been many days since you sat at
my feet the last time. Where have
you been so long?" So said the Talk-
ing Pine, as I sat down by his feet
and rested from my journey.
"I have been on a journey to a strange land, and I
have looked on strange men, Wise One, and I am
weary. My paddle, Esick, is tired of traveling, and
my canoe is heavy from being so long in the water.
"I have seen many strange things, and have looked
on strange totem poles, which I do not know the read-
ing of. One of these I have here in the canoe, Wise
One, and I will set it in your sight that you may read
the tales that are cut upon it."
Then I went to the canoe and carried the great to-
269
270 TOTEM TALES.
tein pole up where the Wise One could look on the
carvings and read the stories for me as I smoked.
When the Wise Pine saw the carvings he said, "This
came from some one who was a Hiada, and of the
tribe of Hoots, the great brown bear, for he is carved
at the top and is the totem of the owner of the house
that this pole stood by.
"This you may know because of the ears of the bear
which are carved to look like the ears of Hoots, though
the body is more of a man's body, and has hands and
feet like a man. This is so because the Indians say
that the great chief of the bears is a man who has the
head of a bear, and so they carve him that way for the
totem of the bear.
"Now you see, the figure of Hoots, the bear, sits on
three rings carved on the pole. This means that the
man who owned this pole was rich and had given
three feasts and dances to all the rest who were of his
tribe, and so you see it cut there that no man may
forget it.
"Below the rings I ,see the great Gray Eagle, and this
carving means Tah-mah-na-wis and is good medicine
for the owner and all his household and no man knows
what it is but the owner.
"Then I see Yelth, the raven, and in his mouth he
THE GREAT TOTEM POLE.
271
READING OF THE TOTEM POLE. 273
holds the moon which he stole from the eagle, his
uncle, and he holds the dish of fresh water between
his feet. Now this carving is the story I told you once
here when the chinoos burned and Sno-qualm, the
moon, climbed up the sky, and it is cut there that men
may not forget the deeds of Yelth, who got these
things for the use of men.
"Under the carving of Yelth is the story of Touats,
the hunter, and Hoots, the bear, cut in the pole, and
by the feet of Touats are two otter heads to show who
he is. This tale I told you, too, a long time ago, and
now you see it carved in the totem pole of a man of
the bear totem, because all men of this totem know
the story and it is cut there that their children may
read it and not forget the tale.
"Next is the carving of T'sing, the beaver, and this
you may know by his teeth, for they are always cut
like the teeth of T'sing. Now this is the totem of the
man's wife who lived in the house, and it is cut there
that the woman may not forget her own people, who
are of the beaver totem, and so her children may know
to what tribe their mother belonged.
"So now, Wanderer, you know the reading of the
carved pole that you got in your journey, and I know
by seeing it that you have been to the North, by the
274
TOTEM TALES.
home of Colesnass, the winter, for this pole was carved
by a man who was of the tribe of the lliadas, who live
by the great water, far away toward the cold coun-
try. Where did you get the pole, Wanderer?"
"I was on my journey in the canoe, Wise One, and as
THE LODGE OF THE DEAD MAN.
T paddled along by an island in the great water that
is far away toward the cold country of the North, I
saw this pole standing among the pines. I went to
the shore, for I had thoughts that there were people
near it and I went there.
275
READING OF THE TOTEM POLE. 277
"There was the pole and a lodge that the wind and
the rain had torn and broken, so no one could live
there, but there were no people.
"Then I read the signs, and this I found: There had
been a family living here by the pole, and they had
built this lodge. There was a man and his wife and
one small child who had lived in the lodge, but who
were dead, memaloose, for I saw their bones there,
all white in the sun, because they had journeyed to
the land of the Stickeen many moons ago. There was
a canoe there, all split by the sun so that small pines
grew up through the cracks, and on the head of the
canoe was cut the totem of Hoots, the bear, so I knew
that it was a man of the bear clan who had built the
lodge.
"I knew that the man was rich, because many blank-
ets and many robes were piled up in the lodge, but
they were rotten from the wet. As I read the signs
and walked around I found this medicine rattle hung
up in the lodge, and it is carved with things that I do
not know, so I will leave it in your sight that you
may know what is cut on it and tell me when I come
again.
"Then I went to this totem pole, and put my hand
against it and it fell down, for it was so old that the
278
TOTEM TALES.
wet had rotted it at the ground and made it ready
to break.
"When it fell I carried it to the canoe and brought
it here that we might read the story of the man whose
bones were
there in the
sun, and who
had been dead
for many
moons, for his
bones were
white like
the arms of a
dead pine."
"You are
good in read-
ing signs,
Tsolo, and
have told the
story of the
dead man.
Your eyes are keen and you see small things. Go now
to your lodge and come again on another night, and
then I will read the carvings on the medicine rattle,
for they tell strange things."
THIS IS THE TALE.
READING OF THE TOTEM POLE.
279
So then I put the great totem pole back in the canoe
and went across the Lake of the Mountains to my
lodge, and there I set the carved pole in the ground,
as it stood by the lodge of the dead man in the coun-
try of the Hiadas, far to the North.
C^WQ op 1WE
HEN I went again to the Talking Pine
he told me the story of the carving
on the medicine rattle that I brought
from the lodge of the dead man in
the Iliad a country, where I got the
great totem pole that stands by my lodge
This the Wise One said of the rattle:
u
This rattle is of the Mid-win-nie clan, T'solo, and so
I know that the dead man whose bones you saw was of
the medicine clan, for no other can use a rattle like
this, and it is for driving away Skall-lal-a-toots from
the medicine lodge, and has many totems cut on it.
"This one at the end is the head of Yelth, the raven,
and you see the stick in his mouth that he used to
carry the fire on to the lodges of men, as I told you a
long time ago. The head of Yelth is cut on the rattle,
280
281
CARVING OF THE MEDICINE RATTLE. 283
because it is a sign of good, and is a good totem.
"The breast of Yelth is made like the breast of the
sparrow hawk, and the head of the sparrow hawk is
where the tail of Yelth should be, and in the hawk's
mouth is a carving of Wah-wah-hoo, the frog.
"Now that is because the hawk is a medicine bird,
and it carries Wah-wah-hoo, the frog, to the medicine
men so they may get medicine for working evil from
the head of the frog, because he had evil
thoughts when he was changed from Wah-
wah-hoo, the man, to the shape of the frog,
and now these evil thoughts are still in the
head of the frog, in the shape of medicine,
which those of the Mid-win-nie clan take for
the working of evil spells.
"On the top of the rattle I see Ka-ke-hete,
the chief of demons, and a girl who is in the
form of Ki-ki, the blue jay.
"Now you see there is a frog again going from the
mouth of Ka-ke-hete to the mouth of the girl, and this
means that Ka-ke-hete is talking a lie to the girl and
it is a lie about the blue jay, Ki-ki, and means evil
for the girl to be seen listening to the talk of Ka-ke-
hete, for he is the chief of demons.
"The whole rattle is the carving of the raven, Yelth,
284
TOTEM TALES.
who is the totem of all the Hiada tribes, and is for good
medicine, and you must hang it to your lodge pole for
a charm against evil things.
"That is the reading of the medicine rattle, T'solo."
So when the Wise One was finished I took the rattle
and went to my lodge across the Lake of the Moun-
tains, and hung it there for a charm against evil spir-
its that travel in the niirht.
The iHU/iDEREK-
HEN the canoe grated on the sand
and I came up from the Lake of the
Mountains the next time, the great
Talking Pine was silent until I
spoke.
"Do you sleep, Wise One?" I asked as I took my
accustomed seat ready to listen to the tales.
"A-he, Snugwillimie T'solo," he answered, "I sleep
the sleep of the old, for I am weary of the dancing and
of play. To-night the sky is clouded and the water
is black with shadows so that you cannot see the
mountains that the Skall-lal-a-toots paint, for they
paint only when there is red in the sky at evening,
and when there is blue in the sky in day.
"To-night is a night of rain, and soon Skamson, the
great thunderbird, will flap his wings and then you
285
286
TOTEM TALES.
will hear Tootah, the thunder, sing his war song, and
you will see Chethl, the lightning, who is the glance
of the thunderbird's eye.
"Tell me of the thunderbird, Skamson, and of his
deeds, Wise One, for this I do not know, and have
heard only the
story of how he
was born there by
the great river.
"It is a good
night for -the tale
of Skamson, and I
will tell you of
him, T'solo, the
wanderer, if you
listen well. It is
like this:
"You know the
tale of how he
came to be, so of
that I will not speak, but will only tell of his deeds as
they were told to me by S'doaks, the Twana medicine
man.
"Now Skamson, the thunderbird, is a man who is in
the shape of a bird, and is the keeper of Chethl, the
Indian Drawing of Skamson.
THE FLIGHT OF SKAMSON.
287
SKAM-SON, THE THUNDERER.
289
lightning, and the keeper of the medicine plants, for
he makes the rain and so makes all the medicine plants
to grow.
"Skamson eats nothing but whales, and these he
does not have near his home, which is on top of a high
mountain,
where he sits
wrapped in his
robe of clouds.
"Because he
eats whales
he must go to
the great
water to get
them when he
is hungry, and
that is why
we have rain,
this way:
"When Skamson feels hunger then he makes magic
and many clouds come in the sky, so that Skamson
may fly to the great water behind them and not be
seen by men.
"By and by the clouds cover all the sky, and when
the thunderbird, Skamson, starts on bis journey and
Indian Drawing of Skamson.
290 TOTEM TALES.
flies like a bird, with his eyes looking straight ahead
and his great wings flapping, then you hear the war
song of Tootah, the thunder, for that is the flapping
of the wings of Skamson.
"Sometimes as he travels to the great ss§
water Skamson looks down through the ^^^^^^^
clouds and Chethl, the lightning, throws ^ ^IP ^h
? Jib **
a piece of fire down to the ground to ^stggi-
make a hole in the clouds, so that Skam- j|l|§j|§§B|:
son may see through, for Chethl is keep-
Indian drawing of
er of the eyes of Skamson, the thun- skamson.
derbird, and lives in the head of Skamson.
"When the thunderbird gets to the great water and
sees a whale, then Chethl throws fire down again and
za
kills it for food for Skamson, and
sometimes this fire hits a man by
mistake and kills him, as it does
the whale.
Indian drawing of u A «. , , , , . , -. , ,
skamson. "After the whale is dead then
Skamson takes it with his feet and flies to a high
mountain to eat it, and then the rain does not fall any
more, and Tootah, the thunder, is still.
"Now there is an island in the great water far to the
North, in the country of the Haidas, and on this island
SKAM-SON, THE THUNDERER. 291
is a high mountain and there are many bones there,
for that is the place where Skamson has eaten many
whales.
"Skamson is a very large bird-
man, for an Indian of the Twana
tribe saw him rest on a high moun-
tain once, and tliis Indian tied one
of the feathers of Skamson's wing-
to a tree, so that when the great
thunderbird tlew away the feathorIndian drawing of skamson.
was pulled out, and when it laid on the ground it was
the length of fifty canoes, and so it was very large.
"This feather was made into medicine and is in the
medicine bags of the tribe of theTwanas to this
day, for it is strong medicine and works
good.
"Skamson, the thunderbird, is a great trav-
eler, and so the men who live across the moun-
tains by the land of Squintum, the white man,
know of his deeds, too, and have him pictured
on the robes in the medicine lodge of many
tribes, and these picture robes you may see
among many tribes, even so far as five great
lakes that stand close together in the country of Squin-
tum, the white man, and where now no Indians live.
War Club.
292
TOTEM TALES.
because of the white man, who lives all over the land
there by the lakes.
"But one time long ago many tribes lived by these
lakes before Squintum came, and these tribes all knew
of Skamson and had his picture painted on the
robes.
WHERE THE WHITE MEN LIVE BY THE LAKE.
"Here the Indians cut the carving of Skamson on
their war clubs to give them luak in hunting, because
he is a Tah-mah-na-wis spirit, and they cut the carv-
ing on the canoe stem that it may find good fishing
SKAM-SON, THE THUNDERER. 293
for them, and they paint it on their lodges, and tat-
too it on their arms, because of its magic.
"And this, then, is the tale of
Skamson, the great thimderbird,
as it was told to me by S'doaks, the
medicine man.
"Now it is time to journey to your
mdian drawing of lodge, T'solo, the wanderer, for
Skamson has started on his way to
the great water, and soon the rain will fall, and
hear the war song of Too-tah, the
thunder.
"You must have good eyes to see
to-night, T'solo, else you will miss
your way across the Lake of the
Mountains, for darkness hangs thick
Indian drawing of
over the water. skamson.
"Now Klook-wah, tillicum, and come again, for I
must sing the rain song and dance
the wind dance, and have no time for
talk."
So then I left the Wise One, and
IndiasnkadmsTnng °f journeyed to my lodge across the Lake
of the Mountains, and as the door curtain fell behind
me, I heard the war song of Too-tah, the thunder, and
then rain began to fall.
-GAMBLE
^| S I sal in the door of my lodge by the
LJA Lake of the Mountains, I looked
^r^ toward the great Talking Pine, and
M ■ saw the light of a fire flare up, and
make his great limbs shine in the
dark, so that I wondered what was happening there.
Soon I heard voices, faint and far away, as they
came over the lake, and these voices were the voices
of men who sang a wild chant which I could not hear
the words of. After I sat and listened for some time
I got Esick, the paddle, and went down to the canoe,
for I wondered what deeds were being done there by
the foot of Ka-ki-i-sil-inah, the Wise One.
Slowly I paddled along, and by and bye the canoe
went softly against the yellow sand, and I left it there
while I went up to see why the tire burned.
294
THE SING-GAMBLE. 295
"Kla-how-ya, T'solo, the wanderer," said the Wise
One, "yon come at a good time, for now yon will see
the gamblers, and hear the song that gamblers sing,
and it is a wild song to hear, for the men play a wild
game to-night. Sit where you can see, and watch
these red men play away their belongings, for they are
crazy with the gambler's craze and will not stop until
they have lost all they own."
So then I sat still and watched the game and the
gamblers until Sno-qualm, the moon, made short shad-
ows, and these things I saw there:
A fire had been built to give light for the game, and
on each side of it were six men, who sang a wild chant
and beat with sticks on a hollow drum log.
One man had two short sticks that could be cov-
ered by your hand, and all the bark had been peeled
from one, while a ring of green had been left around
the center of the other. These were gamble sticks,
and the game was to guess which hand held the ring
stick. Each side had ten short sticks of cedar, which
lay on the ground in front of them, and besides these
three long sticks had been cut for keeping the count.
When they were ready to play, then one man took
the two gamble sticks, one in each hand, and covered
them so no one could see them, then he swung his
296
TOTEM TALES.
hands crosswise before him, as he knelt there by the
fire, and changed the sticks quickly from one hand to
the other. Soon one of the other side thought he knew
which hand held the ring stick, and he made a motion
to that side.
Then the gamble song stopped and the man who
held the gamble sticks put both hands out in front,
and opened them wide to show both sticks.
The guesser had missed, and so he threw across to
the other side one of the short sticks of cedar, which
was one count, and the
winners stuck this stick
in the ground to show
their count of points.
Then the game began
over, and the gamble
chant was sung again
like this: "A-ah-o-lilly-ahn-ah-ha! A-ah-o-lilly-ahn-ah-
ha!"
Then, when one thought he knew which hand held
the ring stick again, he made a motion and the sticks
were shown as before. This time he guessed it, and
so the man who had held the sticks threw a count stick
over to the one who had guessed right, and then threw
the gamble sticks across too, and his side became the
Gamble Sticks.
THE SING-GAMBLE.
297
guessers until they won and got the gamble sticks
back again.
For a long time they did this way, and when one
side had got ten of the count sticks stuck in the ground
thev took them all down and put a large one up, to
fl'Wft
MADE A MOTION TO THAT SIDE.
mean ten counts, and when one side got three of these
larger count sticks up they won the game and took all
the things that the gamble was for, and left the others
who had lost them.
These things I saw the winners take away with
298 TOTEM TALES.
them: Three canoes, a white man's watch that can
tell the time, some good blankets, some pieces of
Tkope chicka-min, that the white man, Squintum, calls
dollars, and some robes and moccasins, ar.d these were
lost by the other side in the play of the sing-gamble.
"You have seen the gamblers and heard their song,
T'solo, the wanderer, and now listen:
"These men think to get something for nothing, and
that no man may do honestly, and he who does this
has in his mind Ka-ke-hete, the chief of demons, and
he is evil, or he is pelton, not right in his thoughts, and
so is not a good man to know. Remember, T'solo, what
you have seen to-night, and do not sit by the sing-gam-
ble fire and listen to the sing-gamble song, lest it be-
witch you and you get hungry for gold, like Squin-
tum, the white man, across the mountains, who is
never satisfied, and always cries for more gold.
"It is better to know of good hunting, and where
many salmon swim, and to have wisdom in the ways
of medicine and of magic, than it is to know too much
of the ways of Squintum, the white man, who is like
the gamblers you saw to-night, in his thoughts."
The fire had burned low and red and I sat there
looking into it, and thinking heavy thoughts on the
words of the Talking Pine, and as I thought it came
THE FIRE HAD BURNED LOW.
THE SING-GAMBLE.
301
into my mind that the Pine was old, and had much
wisdom, and that his words were heavy words, spoken
with a single, straight tongue, so I said, "It is well,
Wise One, and your words are good words to remem-
ber, and from this time I will look on the sing-gamble
no more lest I get hungry for the gold, like the white
man, Squintum, and so let Ka-ke-hete come into my
mind. And now I would sleep, and will go to my
lodge. Klook-wah, Wise One."
And so I got in the canoe and crossed back to my
lodge again, and left the fire to burn out.
OULD you know of the Tah-mah-na-
wis of S'doaks, T'solo?" asked the
Talking Pine, as I lighted my pipe
and sat down at his feet to hear the
tales.
"Tell the story, Wise One, for I would know of
S'doaks and of the tribe of the Twanas," I answered.
And then the Wise One, Ka-ki-i-sil-mah, the great
Talking Pine, told me this tale:
"When the great medicine man, S'doaks, the son of
Yelth, the raven, was only a small lad, he was a good
trailer and a good hunter, and was very wise for one
so young.
"His eyes were keen and his mind was clear to tell
what he saw, and his judgment was the judgment of a
man full grown.
302
THE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS OF S'DOAKS.
303
"Now in the tribe of the Twanas there was an old
Mid-win-nie man who was very wise, and who was
Itswoot, the bear, and whose nose was keen to smell
things out, and this man saw S'doaks and saw his
wisdom.
"So one time at the council, Itswoot, the bear, said
to Yelth, the father of S'doaks, <Tyee Yelth, chief of the
tribe of the Twanas, you are the favored father of a
favored son, for S'doaks is of the Mid-
win-nie clan, born a medicine man,
and only needs to be taught the ways
of doing medicine deeds to be a great
man and chief of all the Mid-win-nie
men. Give to me the training of the
lad, and you shall see him the head
man of the Twana tribe when the
time comes for you to go to Stickeen,
the land of the dead.'
"These words were heavy words to Yelth, the raven,
and he thought for many days on what the bear had
said, and then he told S'doaks that he must go and
live with Itswoot, the bear, and get wisdom in the
ways of medicine.
"And this was the starting of S'doaks, the greatest
medicine man of all the Mid-win-nie clan.
S'doaks.
304 TOTEM TALES.
"Now you know, T'solo, the wanderer, that every
boy must get a totem, or spirit, to look after him
through life and to protect him on his journeys, and
to bring luck on his hunting and fishing trips, and this
totem is his Tah-mah-na-wis for all time.
"So when S'doaks was a big boy and had seen as
many summers as all the fingers on both your hands,
and half as many more, then Itswoot called him into
the medicine lodge and told him what to do.
"Said the medicine man, Itswoot, the bear, 'S'doaks,
listen! To-day you are a man, and must have the to-
tem of a man. Now listen well and I, Itswoot, will
tell you of the way. When you leave this lodge you
must go to the sweat lodge and stay there without
eating or drinking for one whole sun, then when Po-
likely, the night, comes, you must leave all your robes,
and your bows, and your knife, and with only your
medicine belt, go into the forest and stay until your
Tah-mah-na-wis comes to you.
" 'You must be very careful not to eat or drink dur-
ing this time, but fast and wait until you see some ob-
ject that will come to you in the forest and motion for
you to follow it. Then you must follow and not take
your eyes from it, and it will guide you to food and
drink.
S'DOAKS, LISTEN!
THE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS OF S'DOAKS. 307
" 'This will be your Tah-mali-na-wis and will guard
you through life and protect you. In return for this
protection you must never kill this object, even if you
are starving, but must always protect it in every way
you can, for bad luck comes to those who harm their
totem.
" 'If your totem be a beast, bird or fish, or other liv-
ing thing, then get some part of it and put it in your
medicine bag for a charm, but do not kill to get this
charm.
" 'When you have got the charm you may
then eat and drink, but let no man see you
for one moon, but stay in the forest and talk
with Tah-mah-na-wis and gain wisdom.
" 'When the space of one moon has gone by
then come here and go again to the sweat
Knife.
lodge and stay over one night, then you may
go again among men, and in one summer more you
shall take the Kloo-kwallie dance and be a great medi-
cine man. But in that summer, S'doaks, look well
that no woman touches you on the hand, and let no
woman touch your salmon spear, nor set foot in your
fishing canoe, for that would spoil all and make these
things useless. And now, S'doaks, have you listened
well?'
308
TOTEM TALES.
" 'My ears are open and I have heard the roar of the
bear,' answered S'doaks.
" 'Go then and I will make medicine for your good
luck/ said Itswoot, and S'doaks went away.
"All things went as Itswoot had directed, and
J'Wi * '
r 9/
/ f
\«
I AM TAH-MAH-NA-WIS.
S'doaks was in the forest all alone for many days and
had not touched either food or drink, and was weak
from long fasting when he heard a voice in a strange
tongue, and looking up saw Ki-ki, the blue jay, sitting
on the limb of a hemlock tree. r
KI-KI TOLD HIM TO REST BY THE RIVER.
THE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS OP S'DOAKS. 311
"Though the language was strange, S'doaks found
that he could understand it, as he could the Twana
speech of his father's tribe, and then he knew that
Ki-ki was sent for him as Tah-mah-na-wis, and he
listened to the talk of Ki-ki.
"Said the bird, 'Listen, S'doaks; I am Ki-ki, the
blue jay, and I have been looking for you.
'"I am Tah-mah-na-wis and will show you food and
drink. Come, and see that you do not let me get out
of your sight.
"So the bird flew from one tree to another, and
S'doaks followed until he came to a great river full
of salmon, and there the bird told him to stop and
rest.
"After S'doaks had rested he said to Ki-ki, 'I,
S'doaks, the son of Yelth, the raven, take you for my
totem. I must have some part of you for my medi-
cine bag, yet I must not kill to get it. What shall I
do?'
" 'Wait,' said Ki-ki, 'and something will happen so
you will have the medicine you want.'
"So S'doaks waited, and soon the bird flew away
without his seeing it. Then a strange thing happened.
As S'doaks sat there, a mink came by dragging a dead
312
TOTEM TALES.
blue jay by the neck, and when it saw S'doaks it
let go of the bird and ran away into the deep wToods.
"S'doaks went and picked up the dead body and took
two feathers from each wTing and put them in his medi-
cine belt to make him fleet. Then he took the eyes to
make him see better, and the heart to make him kind
to men, and the brain to make him wise in medicine
and to give him the powder of Tah-mah-na-wis, and the
tongue to give him the talk of the wild things. All
these things he put in his medicine belt and sat down
to wait for Ki-ki to come back.
"Soon Ki-ki came back and said, 'Now you have
the charms and I will
go. But I will be
near you always, and
when you need me
you must call in the
talk of the blue jay,
Ki-ki/
"Then Ki-ki went away and S'doaks was left alone.
Then he caught some of the salmon and ate them and
stayed alone in the woods for the time of one moon
and talked with Tah-mah-na-wTis and gained wisdom.
And so that is how S'doaks, the son of Yelth, the ra-
ven, came to have Ki-ki, the blue jay, for his totem.
Mink Dragging a Blue Jay.
THE TAH-MAH-NA-WIS OF S'DOAKS.
313
"Now it is time for sleep," said the Pine, and 1 got
in my canoe again, and paddled away across the Lake
of the Mountains to wait.
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX.
A-a-ah-na (A-a-ah-nah). — Exclamation from the T'suc-cuc-cub
dialect meaning, as nearly as it can be expressed, "Oh yes."
A-ah-o-lilly-ahn-ah-ah — The chant used in the sing-gamble game.
Repeated over and over without time or rythm. Simply these
sounds without meaning used as a song to go with the gam-
bling game.
A-he (Ay-hee).— Allied tribes. An exclamation in the T'suc-cuc-
cub dialect meaning "yes."
Alki (Al-kee).— Chinook word meaning bye and bye, after a little
while, in a little time to come.
Alkicheek (Al-key-cheek).— A small sea shell not unlike a porcu-
pine quill. Considered valuable as ornament among the In-
dians. Procured from a small mollusk and made into ear
pendants, necklaces, etc. Sometimes used as a trade money
with Hiaqua in times past.
Canim (Kay-nim). — Chinook word for "canoe."
Cawk (Cawk).— Hiada word. Name of a mythical person described
as the daughter of the Beaver.
Chee-chee-watah (Chee-chee-wat-tah).— The name of the humming
bird. Allied tribes.
Chee-watum (Chee-wat-tum). — Indian man's name. Allied tribes.
Chethl (Chethl).— A man's name. The lightning. Origin with some
tribe of the Selish family.
Chinook. — The name of a group of Indian tribes who lived along
the Columbia River, and the sea coast to the north. Also
the name of a jargon used as a common trade language among
all the Indian tribes of the Northwest who occupy Washing-
316 TOTEM TALES.
ton, Oregon, Idaho and Vancouver's Island. It was found,
much the same as to-day, in use among these tribes by Lewis
and Clark in 1806, and is not, as has been asserted, an inven-
tion of the factors of the Hudson's Bay company of fur traders,
although they have in company with other traders contributed
to its growth by adding English and French words. It is com-
posed as nearly as can be ascertained of the following lan-
guages and tribal dialects: French, 90 words; English, 67 words,
Canadian, 4 words; Unknown, 24 words; Wasco tribe, 4 words;
Chippewa, 1 word; Nisqually, 7 words; Chinook, 221 words;
Dialects, 32 words; Chehalis, 32 words; Calapooya, 4 words;
Cree, 2 words; Klikatat, 2 words. The English letters F and
R are changed to the sounds of P and L and no unnecessary
words are used in the jargon, for the Indian favors terseness.
Even Chinook has many dialects, and words in common use
in one locality are unknown in some distant part of the
country where the jargon is used. It has no grammar and a
dictionary of it would be hard to write on account of the
manifold uses of the same word, a motion accompanying it
changing its meaning entirely. Yet it is easily and quickly
learned and is in use to a great extent to-day in the North-
west, whites as well as Indians using it as a medium of trade
or information. While it has many shortcomings it still has.
its advantages, and through it the "Totem Tales" have been
translated into the English and preserved, a feat that would be
almost impossible if one had to rely on the harsh unspeakable
gutturals of the native languages, which sound even more con-
fusing than Chinese and each one of which would require half
a lifetime to master. The English language is not capable of
a description of these Indian tongues. But we have Chinook,
only about five or six hundred words, it is true, but it is backed
by the expressive talking of an Indian's hands, a natural sign
language, and lo, the tales are procured, understood and re-
corded in all their simplicity, contradictory features, poetry,
romance and superstition. So much for the Chinook jargon,
a queer language without a country or ownership, a social
tramp, an outcast among the languages of the world, just as
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 317
its originators are outcasts, reviled, laughed at, and misunder-
stood by the civilized tribes of men who build great stone
lodges, all in one place, and seek always for gold, forgetting
all, even the Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis, for this.
Chinoos (Chin-noose). — Tobacco. From the Quinault language.
Closh (Klo-sch).— Chinook word meaning good. Skoo-kum also
means good and one word is used as often as the other to sig-
nify the same thing.
Colesick (Cole-sick). — The keeper of the dead, chief of all in the
country of Stick-een, land of shades. Also used in Chinook
to mean any sickness that is not a fever. Origin unknown.
Colesnass (Colesnass). — Chinook word meaning the cold weather,
cold wind, etc., etc.
Cultas (Cult-tass). — Chinook word meaning bad, also worthless.
"Cultas man," a shiftless fellow; "Cultas esick," a wornout
paddle; "delate cultas," very bad, wicked.
Doak-a-batl (Doak-a-battle). — Twana language. The name of a
great mythical personage who is credited with the making of
many new things. Really an Indian Creator.
D'wampsh (Doo-wam-ish). — The river that empties into Elliott
Bay at Seattle, Wash. Name the same as one of the allied
tribes whose territory extended many miles up and down this
stream.
Ena (E-nah). — Chinook word meaning the Beaver.
Ena-poo (Enah-pooh). — Chinook word meaning Muskrat.
Esick (Ee-sik). — Chinook word for paddle.
Evil Eye. — The expression among Indians meaning about the same
as a witch among white people. Anyone possessed of an evil
eye is supposed to be able to cast spells for evil over any other
person even at great distances. There are many charms and
incantations, medicines, etc., etc., to ward off this influence
and render it harmless, but notwithstanding all this the In-
dian is still deathly afraid of the unseen power of this influ-
ence, and if he once gets an idea that you are an "evil eye" no
power on earth can get him to look at your face, and he will
undergo almost anything rather than meet you face to face.
Such is the hold of superstition on the savage mind.
318 TOTEM TALES.
G'Klobet (G'Klobet).— Man's name. Allied tribes.
Hah-hah (Ha-ha).— Mythical character. The wife of the frog. Ori-
gin unknown.
Hia-qua (Hi-a-quaw). — The name applied to the shells used as
money before the whites came among the Indians. The same
thing that wampum meant with the Eastern Indians. A word
belonging to all of the Selish dialects.
Hiada (Hy-a-dah).— Name of a tribe of Indians who occupy Queen
Charlotte's Island, B. C. These are very interesting Indians
and are the most advanced of any of the coast tribes. They
have many characteristics in common with the Japanese, in-
cluding the slanting eyes, yellow skin, tracing ancestry
through the mother and great love for their children. They
are expert workers and carvers in wood and metals and are
the canoe and totem pole makers for all the tribes along the
coast. Their canoes are the most seaworthy boats afloat for
their size, as the writer can attest from experience with them,
and the model is almost perfect. They hew these boats from a
solid log of Alaska cedar, depending altogether on the eye for
measurements and curves, and it is a marvel how they can
cut a boat out of the log and have it rest on an even keel,
properly balanced without ballast, when put in the water. It
is beyond the ken of white men. The great Kuro Siwah, the
Japanese current, washes against the shore of their island
home and may account for the residence of these North
American-Japanese people on this continent by bringing their
ancestors here in its drift sometime in the dark ages of the
past. Who can tell? They are canoe Indians, and a fish-eat-
ing race, and have very many Japanese traits of character,
and one is at once struck with the idea that they are degener-
ated Japanese, and the theory of their origin may be correct.
Hias (Hy-as). — Chinook word meaning a great many, much, large,
etc.; "Hias Tyee," a great chief; "Hias hiyu ictas," a very
great many things. Hiyu is also used alone in the same sense.
Hoo-ie (Hoo-ee). — Quinault word, meaning crazy.
Hoots (Hoots). — Hiada name for the brown, or cinnamon, bear.
Hootza (Hoot-zay).— Hiada name for the wolf
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 319
Hul-loi-mie (Hul-loy-mee). — Quinault language. Meaning differ-
ent.
Ill-a-hee (Ill-lay-hee). — Chinook word meaning ground or land.
Itswoot (Its-woot). — The Black Bear. Quinault language.
Ka-ke-hete (Kay-kee-hete).— The chief of all demons, origin un-
known, but probably from one of the numerous tribes of the
Selish family occupying the territory along the Columbia
River and north of it along the coast; all being canoe Indians.
Ka-ki-i-sil-mah (Kay-kee-i-sill-mah). — Name of an Indian story
teller of the T'suc-cuc-cub tribe.
Kamas (Kam-mas). — Name of a plant, the roots of which are used
for food.
Ki-ki (Ki-ky).— The Blue Jay. Allied tribes. One of the important
characters in the myths of the Selish tribes. A common totem
or guardian Tah-mah-na-wis with all the coast Indians.
Kit-si-nao (Kit-si-nay-o). — Woman's name from the Hiada lan-
guage.
Klack-a-mass (Klack-a-mass). — From one of the Selish dialects.
A man's name. Name of a mythic chief.
Kla-how-ya (Klay-how-yah).— The Chinook salutation, "How are
you?"
Kla-klack-hah (Kla-klack-hahn).— A woman's name. Selish dia-
lect. Daughter of Klack-a-mass.
Klale (Klail).— Chinook word meaning any dark color, but usually
used to mean black or dark blue.
Klook-^wah (Klook-wah). — Quinault language, west coast of Wash-
ington along the Quinault or Quiniault River. Means "good-
bye," or farewell.
Kloo-kwallie (Klue-kwally). — Quinault language. Name given to
the ceremony of the initiation or graduation of a new medicine
man. These rites consist of tortures of various kinds in which
fire plays an important part, and last some times for several
days and always until the candidate for medical honors is
exhausted. These men are sometimes crippled for life by the
horrible tortures inflicted on them by their own hands partly,
and partly by the rest of the dancers. The idea of it all being
to let the medicine man prove himself able to cure his own
320 TOTEM TALES.
hurts before he undertakes to cure others. These rites are
gone through with generally several times before the doctor
is declared fit for his calling, and are always carried on in the
winter season. "Of the Kloo-kwallie" is the best description
the author is able to give the reader of the actual ceremony,
but cold type cannot bring into the scene the frenzy, the
wierdness, and the shivers that chase one another along your
spine as you watch these seeming demons dance the Kloo-
kwallie. There is a wailing rise and fall to the Indian chant,
a subdued fierceness that cannot be described and which can
only be heard when they do not know there are listeners
about, and this is the song of the Kloo-kwallie, the song that
nobody knows and the English tongue does not contain words
that will describe it or that will describe the wildness of a
ceremony such as the Kloo-kwallie better than it is in "Of the
Kloo-kwallie."
Kula-kula (Kull-lah-kull-law). — Chinook word meaning a bird.
Used with a prefix thus, Tyee-Kula-kula the eagle, or to trans-
late literally, "the chief bird."
Klutch-man (Klooch-man). — Chinook word, meaning a woman;
"Nika Klutchman," my wife; "Hiyu Klutchmen," many wo-
men.
Lake of the Mountains. — Lake Union, State of Washington.
Mah-kook (Maw-cook). — Chinook word meaning "trade or barter.
Probably the English word "market" adopted and incorpo-
rated into the jargon from intercourse with early traders.
Ma-sah-chee (Me-saw-che). — Chinook word meaning the opposite
of good. Anything that is worse than just plain "bad."
Medicine bag. — A little bag made of skin usually and containing
charms, etc., to ward off evil, sickness, and to bring good luck.
The contents are known to the owner, but to no one else, and
their potency is immediately lost when any outsider knows
what they are composed of. Sometimes the medicine bag is
made as a belt and highly ornamented with bead and quill
work.
Mem-a-loose (Mem-a-luce). — Chinook word meaning dead. "Cha-
co mem-a-loose," to die.
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 321
Mid-win-nie (Mid-winny). — The society of medicine men. The ones
who practice medicine, magic, religious rites and cast spells.
Origin unknown. Common to a great many tribes, but prob-
ably of Dakotah origin.
Moos-moos (Moos-moos). — Chinook word meaning elk.
Mowitch (Mow-witch). — Chinook word meaning deer.
Now-itka (Nowitka). — Chinook word meaning yes.
Oke-oke (O-koke). — Chinook word meaning either that or this, ac-
cording to the way it is used and the motion that accom-
panies it.
Olo (Olo). — Chinook jargon, meaning hungry.
Opitsah (O-pit-sah). — Chinook word, name of a knife.
Pelton (Pell-ton). — Chinook word meaning crazy.
Pil-Chicamun. — Chinook word for gold. Literally, red metal.
Polikely (Po-like-lie). — Chinook word meaning darkness, night.
"Polikely kula-kula," the owl, the night bird.
Puss-puss (Puss-puss). — Chinook word for the cougar or mountain
lion.
Quaw-te-aht (Quaw-tee-awht). — Name of a mythic character. Ori-
gin unknown other than it belongs to some dialect of the Selish
tribes.
Quoots-hoi (Kwoots-hoy). — Name of a mythical witch. Used only
in the Thunderbird stories. Selish dialect, but tribe not
known. Probably originated with one of the Columbia River
tribes who were called Chinook Indians.
Sah-ha-le (Sah-hay-le). — Chinook word meaning up above. Used
in connection with Tah-mah-na-wis to mean the Deity.
S'amumpsh (S'mum-psh). — Name of a river in the State of Wash-
ington called Sam-mam-ish, by the whites. Prom the Allied
Tribes.
S'doaks (S'ss-doaks). — Hiada language. A man's name.
Shot-o-lil-ie (Shot-o-lily). — Chinook word. Name of the Huckle-
berry.
£iah (Si-ah).— Chinook word. Far away, a long distance. "Siah
Ahncutty," a long time ago; "Siah yowah," away over there.
Siah-ahncutty (Siah-ahn-cutty).— Chinook jargon meaning in the
time past. Length of time is indicated by drawing out the
322 TOTEM TALES.
words slightly for a week or so ago, longer for two or three
months, and very long for the time before men can remember.
Siawash (Si-wash). — A name among the whites applied to any In-
dian of the west coast irrespective of his tribe. Generally
meaning the canoe Indians of Puget Sound and the islands of
the Northwest.
Skall-lal-aye (Skall-lal-a). — Allied tribes. A name for any charm
against the Skall-lal-a-toots or fairy folk.
Skallalatoot (Skal-lal-a-toot). — A fairy. The unseen and unknown
causes that produce strange noises in the woods. Night voices
of unknown origin. The makers of mischief. Originated with
one of the six tribes who combined under Chief Sealth, or
Seattle as the whites pronounce it. These allied tribes were
the Moxliepush, D'wampsch, Black River, Shillshole, Lake
and T'suc-cuc-cub, the latter being the tribe to which Sealth
properly belonged. Many words contained in "Totem Tales"
are from this group of dialects and are spoken of as the Allied
Tribes when mentioned.
Skamson (Skam-sun). — Hiada language. Name of the Thunder-
bird. This mythical character is also called Ka-ka-itch, Tu-
tutsh, T'hlu-Kluts and Hah-ness, each being a different tribal
name for the same personage.
Sko-ko-mish (Sko-ko-msh).— Name of a river emptying into Hood's
Canal, Wash.; also name of the Twana tribe of Indians living
on its banks and who belong to the Selish or flathead group or
family of North American aborigines.
Skoolt-ka (Skule-t-kah). — Woman's name from the Hiada lan-
guage.
Snoqualm (Snow-quallm). — The moon. Originated probably with
the Snoqualmie tribe.
Snugwillimie (Snug-will-li-mie). — Quinault language. Used to
mean friend, but used by an Indian only to mean an Indian
friend, a white friend being either "Tillacum" or "Squintum."
Spe-ow (Spee-ow). — A mythical personage whose deeds as told in
the legends make him occupy the position of a Creator.- Leg-
end of Speow and the Spider is very common among the coast
tribes of the Northwest, and can be obtained with slight varia-
tions from a dozen or more different sources.
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 323
Spud-te-dock (Spudt-tea-dock).— Twana tribe. A protecting spirit
who was sometimes represented or personified by a wooden
image that was set up in the ground by the medicine man and
by him appealed to for wisdom in deep questions. This is the
nearest approach to an idol that can be traced among the
coast tribes, and while the figure was consulted for knowledge
it can hardly be said that this was done in a religious way,
but more after the form of voo-doo-ism, the conjure work that
is found among all savage tribes. This spirit was merely
made in effigy and this figure consulted and argued with to
give the medicine man knowledge of secrets that he was in-
terested in.
Squintum (Squind-tum). — A white man. Word of unknown ori-
gin. Probably from the Allied Tribes, though it may be of
Quinault origin.
Stickeen (Stick-keen). — The country where the dead people live
again. Origin unknown.
Sweat Lodge. — A lodge built for the purpose of taking a sweat or
a steam bath. This is done by heating stones and dropping
them into a wooden trough containing water until steam is
generated and the one who is taking the bath perspires freely.
It is the Indian turkish bath and is used a great deal in sick-
ness among them.
Tah-mah-na-wis (Taw-maw-na-wiss). — A name applied to anything
the Indians cannot understand. A protecting or guardia.n
spirit if used another way. Any thing of a magic nature.
Name of the Deity. A Tah-mah-na-wis man is a doctor, priest,
conjurer, and fortune-teller, a dealer in magic and a maker
and destroyer of charms for good and evil, all in the same
personage. "Sah-ha-le Tah-mah-na-wis," the Great Spirit;
"Yah-ka Tah-mah-na-wis," a personal guardian spirit;
"Tah-mah-na-wis ictas," objects of magic or containing
magic properties. "Klale Tah-mah-na-wis," the name of the
secret society of Black Magic. Anything too deep for the grasp
of the Indian mind is charged to "Tah-mah-na-wis," and ends
there, no attempt being made to find out "why."
324 TOTEM TALES.
T'hlingits (Thling-gits).— Name of a tribe of Indians north of Puget
Sound. Territory they occupy runs into the Panhandle of
Alaska.
Tillacum (Till-lay-cum).— Chinook word for friend.
Tipsu koshoo (Tip-soo ko-sho).— Chinook word meaning water pig,
applied to the hair or harbor seal.
T'komah (Ti-ko-ma). — A name from the allied tribes applied to
any high snow covered peak. Adopted by the whites and used
to mean Mount Ranier, called by some people erroneously as
Mt. Tacoma. The Indian name for this mountain means "the
one that feeds."
T'kope-mowitch (To-kope-mow-witch). — The Chinook word mean-
ing white goat or white deer.
T'kope (Ti-kope). — White. Chinook word for the color. "T'kope
kula-kula," the sea gull.
Too-lux (Tu-lux). — Name of the south wind. Tribal origin not
known. Word belongs to some one of the Selish dialects.
Too-muck (Too-muck). — A name applied to all the demons of In-
dian mythology. Chinook word.
Too-tah (Too-taw). — Name of the thunder. Origin unknown.
Totem (Totem). — A charm against evil. — A protector. This word
is found in universal use among all Indian tribes of Central
North America and means the same with all. Origin unknown.
Totem Pole. — A carved pole of yellow or Alaska cedar, usually. In
no sense an idol. The figures on these poles are symbolic and
rarely intended as a portrait of the object represented, though
they always have some feature that makes their identity plain,
as the ears in the figure for the bear, the teeth in the beaver,
the tail in the shark and the whale, the teeth and nose in the
wolf, etc. The carvings are family history, tribal history,
legendary lore and records of various happenings of a far-
reaching character. The carving is done by a few carvers in
each tribe, the Hiadas being the most expert and the most
lavish in designing. Some of these poles are very large and
cost a great deal of time and patience in the manufacture, and
are priceless in the estimation of their owners. There are still
many things connected with them that are wholly unknown
VOCABULARY AND HISTORICAL APPENDIX. 325
to the whites and which will likely always remain more or
less of a mystery. Close connection and resemblance has
been found to exist among the carvings of the totem pole, the
monoliths of Yucatan, and the Egyptian stone records, and
some points have even been found in common with the idols
of the Sandwich Islands and the fetishes among the savages of
Africa. All of these things belong more or less to the dark
ages before man kept a record of events, and will go down the
path of time as profound a mystery as when they first dawned
on the horizon of thought and came within the realm of the
scholar. They will always be silent records of a vanished
people.
Touats (Tow-at-ss). — Hiada language. A man's name. The name
of the mythical hunter who figures in the story of the "Hunter
and the Bear."
T'schumin (Ti-schum-min). — The instrument used in making ca-
noes. Name from the allied tribes.
T'set-la-lits (Tee-set-see-lay-litz). — From the T'suc-cuc-cub dia-
lect and first used to designate the first settlement on the
shore of Elliott Bay, Puget Sound, Wash., the site of the pres-
ent city of Seattle.
T'set-shin (Ti-set-shin).— The snake. Origin unknown, but prob-
ably from the allied tribes.
T'sing (T'ss-sing). — Hiada word. The name of the beaver.
T'solo (T'ss-solo). — From the allied tribes, meaning lost one, wild,
wanderer.
Tumchuck (Tum-chuck).— Chinook word, meaning falling water.
Applied to any water fall or white rapid in a river. Also name
of a swift mountain stream in State of Washington.
Twana (T-wan-nah).— Name of a tribe of the Selish family of In-
dians living on the Sko-ko-mish River. Also called Sko-ko-
mish Indians.
Tyee (Tie-ee).— From the Chinook jargon. A chief or head man of
a tribe or family.
T'znra (T'ss-zum). — Chinook word meaning any object that is
painted, printed, written or otherwise marked with color, thus
"T'zum-pish," a spotted fish, the trout; "T'zum-papah," a
printed or written paper; "T'zum-sail," a painted picture.
326 TOTEM TALES.
Wah-wah-hoo (Wah-wah-who). — The frog. Origin unknown, but
probably from the Snoqualmie tribe.
Wee-nat-chee (We-natch-chee).— The rainbow. This name origi-
nates east of the Cascade range of mountains, but with what
particular tribe is unknown. Probably with the Yahkimahs.
* Wee-wye-kee (Wee-why-key). — The Indian name of Princess An-
geline, one of the daughters of Chief Sealth and a member of
the T'suc-cuc-cub tribe who lived around Elliott Bay, Wash.
Yelth (Yelth). — From the Hiada tribe who live on Queen Char-
lotte's Island, B. C. The name for the raven, who is one of
the mythical characters with this tribe and considered the
benefactor of man.
NOTE.— Where the letter T' is followed by the apostrophe,
as above, the sound of the T is "tiss," as nearly as it can be
written, thus making a syllable of itself, as Tiss-so-low, for T'solo.
There are many sounds in the Indian tongues that English has
no equivalent for, so they must be represented by the English
sound or letter coming nearest.
* This character has died since the writing of the above, and
leaves many mourners among the early settlers of Puget Sound.
She was a noted character and the mascot of the city of Seattle,
because in early days she was instrumental in saving the city
from Indian massacre. See History of the State of Washington.
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