s 6 ALEXANDEE ÎIACKEXZIE ON CERTAIN 



Medicine -man s Ivory Charms (Haida Kun-si-kah). — [Nos. 1278, 12t8A.] These were 

 woru suspended round the neck by the Medicine man during the ceremony of operating 

 on a patient. When the conjuring and rattling were concluded, the doctor very often 

 detached one of these charms or amulets and suspended it round the sick person's neck. 

 In other instances he sold or lent them as a protection to the wearer against evil 

 influences. 



Medicine-mans Rattle (Haida Sissah). — [No. 1328.] This rattle belonged to a medicine- 

 man, and was in use for a long time. It was supposed that the sound of the rattle 

 assisted the doctor to draw out the sickness from the patient's body, and when exercised 

 for a considerable time with an uninterrupted monotonous sound, produced by a peculiar 

 motion of the arm and wrist, it had a soothing effect on the sick person, and often caused 

 him to fall into a kind of stupor resembling sleep. 



Two Dance Rattles (Haida Sissah). — [Nos. 1280 and 1283.] These were used only 

 as an accompaniment in keeping time to songs and dances, and were invariably made 

 after the same pattern, with beak of a raven in front and body ornamented with 

 frogs, etc. ' 



Carved Dish of Mountain Sheep's Horn (Haida Skoots-kââ-thlah). — [^o. 1307.] " The 

 horn of which dishes and spoons of this sort were made was brought from the Upper 

 Stikine river. 



Bone Spear-heads (Haida Skoots-kah). — [Nos. 1297 and 1299.] These were made at a 

 time when iron was a rarity, and were .used for spearing seals and other sea animals. 



Halibut Hook (Haida Khain-tow). — [No. 1281] This kind of hook was universally 

 used by the coast tribes in catching halibut before they procured iron hooks. It is made 

 out of a knot of the spruce tree, cut out of the heart of the log and then steamed into the 

 proper shape. ^ 



Skyll Hook (Haida Skylltowl). — [No. 1282.] This hook is also made out of a spruce 

 knot steamed into form, and is used for catching the skill or black cod ; a fish which 

 inhabits very deep water, being sometimes hooked at the depth of 200 fathoms. When 

 the hook is baited, it requires to be set by springing it open and keeping it in that posi- 

 tion by means of a small wooden pin about three inches long. When the fish is hooked 

 it piishes the pin out, and the strain on the hook being released it closes on the fish's jaw 

 and thus effectually prevents its ridding itself of the barb and escaping. 



Whistles and Calls, named in the Haida tongue variously Sah-an and Hut-teet. — [Nos. 

 1318 to 1327.] These were used in dances and merrymakings to imitate the voices of the 

 birds and animals which were often depicted on the carved wooden masks worn on the 

 same occasions. 



and the compound Win-diLm-uld-wa' or " foreigner's tobacco "is now used to denote ordinary tobacco. It is inter- 

 esting to note, further, that the place called Cumshiwa on the Queen Charlotte Islands was one of the chief locali- 

 ties of cultivation of the native narcotic plant. This name is, however, not the Haida name of the actual place, 

 but that of its hereditary chief. The connection, if any, of the name with that of the tobacco has not been traced. 

 Mr. R. H. Hall states that though the native narcotic weed is not now known, he has found reason to believe that 

 it was a yellow-flowered poppy— Pupawr nwiicaule ? G. M. D. 



1 Cf. Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1878-79, plate xi, fig. 26. 



'' This resembles that figured in Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1878-79, plate is, fig. 18. 



^ Cf. Report of Progress, Geol. Surv. Can., 1878-79, plate vii, fig. 10. 



