THE KWAKIUTL INDIANS. 605 



the house. A messenger ran around the tire, went out of the house, 

 and returned. 



Xext La'g-us entered, ]ioldin<^ a broken copper in his teeth. He was 

 followed by a girl. Then one man entered who Avore a neck ring. lie 

 had two companions who carried rattles. Another man carrying a 

 copper plate, and two more men, followed. The people sang a ha/mats'a 

 song. The girl wore a head ring with ermine trimmings and large 

 abalone shells. She moved her hands like a ha'mats'a. She was clad 

 in a button blanket with ermine trimmings. Now La/g-us broke off a 

 piece of tlie copper and. threw blankets into the fire. All this time her 

 mother carried the rattle. The girl went out again. 



Next Ho'LElitO took a rattle, turned, and went around the fire twice. 

 Then he listened to see if the new ha/mats'a was coming back. He 

 listened three times. Now whistles were heard, and the noise of a man 

 running round the roof of the house. Suddenly the roof boards were 

 pushed aside. A boy jumped down with a head ring of hemlock and 

 quartz crystals attached along the median line of his head. He had an 

 apron of hemlock branches. He jumped first upon the roof of the bed- 

 rooms in the rear of the house, and from there down to the floor. He 

 danced, his hands close to the rear side of his thighs, running with short 

 quick steps and bending rhythmically. Then he ran out. He was the 

 ^Ma'tEm. As soon as he left the house the ha'mats'a cried "hap." 

 Nu'xncmis then made a speech. The whistles of the ha/mats'a were 

 heard in the door, where the k-inqalaLala appeared singing. The 

 assistants surrounded the ha'mats'a and ran with him around the fire. 

 Then they went out. Now blankets were carried into the house, and 

 the new ha/mats'a appeared naked, and danced. His ki'uqalaLala were 

 singing and dancing before him. This ended the festival. 



Decemhcr 3. — The Kwakiutl gave the dance Walas'axa'. The people 

 assembled in the evening in the dancing house of the Kwakiutl. A 

 curtain was drawn right acros-s the rear of the house, behind which 

 the members of the seal society first disappeared. After one of the 

 Koskimo had given away some blankets, a fool dancer came out at 

 the rear right-hand corner of the curtain and danced around the fire. 

 A few women danced for him. Then he disappeared again behind the 

 curtain. K'wanuXts'e and his speaker remained standing during this 

 dance and the following ones, facing the curtain in front of which the 

 singers were sitting. The next dancer was a bear, who also appeared 

 from behind the curtain. Then the people sang and an old woman 

 danced for him. 



After some blankets had been distributed, a ha'mshamtsEs song- 

 was struck up, and a woman, accom])anied by two assistants, appeared 

 from behind the curtain. She wore the ha'mshamtsEs head ring and 

 neck ring. The same old woman who had danced before and several 

 others da.nced tor her. Her movements were similar to those of the 

 ha'mats'a, but she did not tremble. During the first line of the song 



