39() REPORT OF NATIONAL MUSEUM, 1895. 



describe in wliat tlie gift of the spirit consists. This difficulty appears 

 even in the preceding- list of the most important spirits. 



O^Ying to tlie fact that these spiints are hereditary, their gifts are 

 always contained in the legend detailing their acquisition by the ances- 

 tor of a clan. The principal gifts in these tales are the magic har- 

 poon which insures success in sea-otter hunting; the death hringer 

 which, when pointed against enemies, kills them ; the water of life which 

 resuscitates the dead; the burning fire which, when pointed against an 

 object, burns it; and a dance, a song, and cries which are peculiar to 

 the spirit. The gift of this dance means that the protege of the 

 spirit is to perform the same dances which have been shown to him. 

 In these dances he personates the spirit. He wears his mask and his 

 ornaments. Thus the dance must be considered a dramatic perform- 

 ance of the myth relating to the acquisition of the spirit, and shows to 

 the people that the performer by his visit to the spirit has obtained 

 his powers and desires. When nowadays a spirit appears to a young 

 Indian, he gives him the same dance, and the youth also returns from 

 the initiation filled with the powers and desires of the spirit. He 

 authenticates his initiation by his dance in the same way as his mythi- 

 cal ancestor did. 



The obtaining of the magical gifts from these spirits is called 

 Lo'koala, while the person who has obtained them becomes nau'aJak", 

 supernatural, which is also the quality of the spirit himself. 



The ornaments of all these spirits are described as made of cedar 

 bark, which is dyed red in the juice of alder bark. They appear to their 

 devotees only in winter, and therefore the dances are also performed 

 only in winter. For this reason they may conveniently be called the 

 winter ceremonial. I shall revert to this subject more fully later on. 



The following legend of the origin of the ha'mats'a (told by the 

 Na'q'oaqtoq) will make clearer what I have said: 



The first of the Awl'k-'enox lived at Wa'waLala. Their chief was 

 Na'nwaqawe. He had four sons who were mountain-goat hunters. 

 At one time the members of his tribe were disappearing one after 

 the other and he did not know what became of them. Na'nwaqawe 

 wanted to eat mountain-goat meat. His sous offered to go out hunt- 

 ing. These are the names of the sons of Nri/nwaqawe: Ta'wix-aniaye 

 and Qofi'qoasililag-ilis, and Ya/fjois, and the name of the youngest 

 was Nii'Lilokuc. The young men made themselves ready, and then 

 Na'nwaqawe advised them. He said: "Do not enter the house the 

 smoke of which looks like blood, else you will never return home. 

 It is the house of BaxbakualanuXsi'wae. The smoke of the house 

 of the goat is white; go there when you see it. Do not go to the 

 house the smoke of which is grey on one side; it is the house of 

 the grizzly bear. Else harm will befall you. Kow go, my sous, and 

 mind what I told you." Ta'wix-amaye replied: "We will try to avoid 

 misfortnne.'' The young men left early in the morning. About noon 

 they discovered tlie grey smoke of which their father had spoken. 

 Ta'wix-amaye spoke: "Now let us see if our father's advice is good. 



