324 REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



The more general the use of the crest in the whole clan, the remoter 

 the time to which the clan lei^end is ascribed. In many cases the inci- 

 dents are considered C()nii)aratively recent, and are then conhned to the 

 descendants of the person whom th6 legend concerns. The extreme case 

 is the narrative of acquisition of one of the crests of the clan by a single 

 person. 



These ideas necessitate that we find the clans or phratries subdivided 

 and that there exists a multiplicity of crests for each phratry. As an 

 illustration of this phenomenon, I will give a list of the crests and clans 

 of the Stikine tribe of the Tliiigit: 



Crests of the raven phratry: Haven, frog, goose, sea lion, owl, salmon, 

 beaver, codfish, skate. 



Crests of the woif phratry: Wolf, bear, eagle, killer whale, shark, 

 auk, gull, sparrow hawk, thunder bird. 

 Tlie phratries of the Stikine tribes are subdivided as follows: 

 Families of the raven phratry : 

 Qasx'ague'de. Crest: Raven. 

 K-iks'a'de. Crest: Frog. 

 Qatc'a'de. Crest: Raven. 



Tir hit tan (=bark house clan). Ciest: Beaver. 

 DeLqoe'de (=people of the point). Crest: tlaveu. 

 Qagan hit tan (=sun house clan). Crest: Raven. 

 xeLqoan. Crest: Beaver. 

 Families of the wolf phratry: 



Nanaa/ri or sikuax'a'de (corresponding to the Kagouta'u of other 

 Tlingit tribes), subdivided as follows: 

 Hara'c hit tan (=porch house clan). 

 Tos hit tan (==shark house clan). 

 Q'et go hit tan. 



xuts hit tan (=bear house clan). 

 XOqe'de. Crest: Killer whale. 

 The list is probably not complete, but it shows the character of these 

 subdivisions. Similar subdivisions, although less numerous, are found 

 among the Tsimshian. 



The crest is used for ornamenting objects belonging to a member of 

 the clan; they are carved on columns intended to perpetuate the mem- 

 ory of a deceased relative, painted on the house front or carved on a 

 column which is placed in front of the house, and are also shown as 

 masks in festivals of the clan. It is impossible to draw a sharp line 

 between the pure crest and figures or masks illustrating certain inci- 

 dents in the legendary history of the clan. In order to illustrate this 

 point, which is of great importance in the study of our subject, I will 

 describe a few examples observed among the Nisqa' Indians. 



The G'ispawaduwE'da, the bear clan of the Nisqa', use a headdress 

 representing the owl (maskutgunu'ks) (Plate 1), surrounded by many 

 small human heads called gyad Em Laqs (claw men). This is worn in 

 potlaches, and commemorates the following tradition : 



A chief at T'Emlax'a'mt had a son who was crying all the time. His 

 father became impatient and sent him out of the house, saying, '' The 



