THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 583 



women of your bousebolds kuow about this secret meeting and keep it 

 from our rivals, tlie Koskimo. I will send two messengers in the 

 morning to call you by tapping at your bedrooms. That is all. Now 

 go home and have a short sleep." After this speech all went home. 



Xovemher 2-1. — Early in the morning IIo'LElite sent NoLElag-ilis and 

 KuLE'm to call all the Kwakiutl. They went around and tapped at 

 the outside walls of the bedrooms. The people arose at once and went 

 out to the place where the AmE'lk" is held. This place is about 150 

 yards from the east end of the village at the edge of the woods. The 

 men went into the woods and cut off hemlock branches, from which 

 they made head rings and neck rings; with these they adorned them- 

 selves, as well as the women. Then Nu'xncmis told the people to get 

 ready for the first cry, and he himself snug out "ho" as loud as he 

 could. Then all the people beat the boards, Avhich were laid down at 

 the place of meeting, and cried "he." Nest all the ha'mshamtsEs 

 dancers — all of whom are women — were tied to a rope which was held 

 by a man. The bear dancers were tied together in the same manner, 

 and led by another man, one of the old bear dancers. Then the 

 ha'mshamtsEs began to cry "wip wip" and the bears began to growl. 

 Xow Nu'xnGmis sang out again, "ho;" the people beat the boards and 

 responded by the cry "he." The ha'mshamtsEs began to cry "wip," 

 tlie bears began to growl "wo ha," and the fool dancers cried "wihi'." 

 After a short interval, Nu'xnemis sang out "ho" for the third time, 

 and the people and the dancers responded in the same manner. Then, 

 while the men were still beating time and while the various cries were 

 being uttered, Ya/qois, the chief hfi'mats'a, rushed out of the woods, 

 followed by his six attendants, and crying "hap, hap, hap, hap." He 

 ran about among the people in a state of great excitement. 



Nu'xnemis spoke: "Let me ask you what has happened that Ya'qois 

 should be so much excited?" Ho'LElite replied: "We have not been 

 in the house of BaxbakualanuXsI''war'. But our friend Ya'qois has 

 passed through it eight times. He knows all that belongs to the win- 

 ter dance, and he knows all the mistakes that may be made. Ya'qois 

 has seen that we have no chief t'o'X'uit among us to throw the super- 

 natural power among our friends here, and that has made him wild. 

 Therefore I will call someone who has been t'O'X'uit four times to be 

 our chief in the AmE'lk"," Then he called a woman, saying: "Come, 

 Wilanqoa'lag'ilis ! Take your place, for you were made t'o'X'uit by your 

 lather four times, so that you are not afraid of anything." Then he 

 called all the people to stand in a square, and the woman took her 

 position in the middle. Upon Ho'LElite's command, the men com- 

 menced to beat the boards. He asked K-rx- to step inside the square, 

 and to show the woman what to do. He obeyed, and while the people 

 were beating the boards K-ex- began to dance in a stooping position. 

 He looked up and down and trembled while he was running backward 

 and forward with short steps. Finally he turned to the right and 



