212 



HOUSES OF KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 



girl cut a slit in the bottom of the basket, and thus all escaped. I was 

 told tbat this is the meaning of Fig. 14. The huge eye-holes are charac- 

 teristic of Tsono'^oa, and, in case it is a woman, her enormous breasts. 



On the house front (Fig. 15)wefindthe 

 thunder-bird. He is an important figure 

 in many traditions and therefore appears 

 in numerous combinations. The house 

 front (PI. xl) shows how Kunkuuqulikya 

 tried to lift the whale. The legend says 

 that he had stolen the son of the raven, 

 who, in order to recover him, carved a 

 whale out of a huge cedar that he cov- 

 ered with a coating of gum. Then he let 



Fig. 18. A chirrs slave talking 

 to the people. Alert Bay; about 

 4' bigb. 



FlG. 19. Statue in a bouse at 

 Qumta'spe ( Hope Island) ; about 

 7' high. 



all kinds of animals go into the whale, and they went to the laud of 

 the thunder-bird. When the bird saw the whale he sent out his youngest 

 sun to catch it. He was unable to lift it. He stuck to the gum and the 

 animals killed him. In this way the whole family was slaughtered. 



Thesamedesign is found on a house front inXuqalky. TheBilqula, who 

 live there, have the same tales of the thunder-bird; they call it Saiotl. 



Another figure thai is frequently represented in the carvings of these 

 tribes is the Sisiutl, the fabulous double-headed snake that can adopt 

 the shape of any ri>h. The traditions referring to this being are partic- 

 ularly important among the Ajaniuin and their neighbors, but all tribes 

 from Pugel Sound to Dean Inlet have traditions referring to it. 



I mentioned above that the style of houses discussed here does not 

 extend farther south than Comox, on Vancouver Island. The tribe that 

 lives there, the Catlolt, belong to the Coast Salish, but they have inter- 



