376 



REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



tliuuder bird lifting a whale, which is its food, from out of the water. 

 According to the clau tradition, the G'i'g-ilqam are the descendants of 

 the thunder bird. This house front was excellently painted, but has been 

 whitewashed, owing to the misplaced zeal of a missionary. The beak 

 was carved and fastened to the house front. The owner had one of his 

 coppers tied to the pole on ton of the house. In fig. 20 is shown a house 

 post which represents a sea lion. I was not able to learn to what clan it 

 belongs. It is found in a house at Xumta'spe with the post shown in fig. 

 36, p. 414. The owner belongs to the clan G-e'xsEm, of theNaqo'mg-ilisala. 

 The carving is said to have come from Yil'qaL'uala (Hope Island), which 

 is the territory of the La'Lasiqoala. When the Naqo'mg-ilisala moved 

 to the present village of Newettee they brought it with them. Fig. 

 19, which represents a statue in a house at Xumta'spe, has a curious 



Fig. 16. 



HOUSE FRONT OF THE CLAN O-E'XSEM, LA'LASIQOALA. 



From a sketch by the aulJior. 



explanation. It belongs to the subdivision Me/EmaqAae (Me/Emaqaua 

 in the Naqo'mg-ilisala dialect) of the Xaqo'mg-ilisala. These are the 

 descendants of Le'laxa (=coming often from above) the son of Q'c'q'a- 

 qaaalis, whose legend will be found below (p. 41(5). Their original 

 Lome is the island G-ig-e'LEm, one of the small islands southeast of 

 Hope Island. LEla'k-En was a later chief of the clan. His daughter 

 was Lad'noqumeqa. They moved to the island Q/oa'sqEmlis and built 

 a village. The chief made a statue like the one represented liere. It 

 is hollow behind and its mouth is open. In the potlatch the chief stands 

 behind the mouth of the statue and sjieaks through it, thus indicating 

 that it is his ancestor who is speaking. LEla/k-En had one dish repre- 

 senting a wolf, another one representing a man, and a third one in tko 



