INDIANS OF BEITISH COLUMBIA. 83 



that we know hardly any thing about these tribes. Dr. G. M. Dawson noticed on his 

 recent journeys, that the raven myths of the Tliugit are also known to the Tinné ; biit 

 this is only one isolated fact. Thus we find that we are unable to pursue our study sys- 

 tematically, for lack of information. It is of the greatest importance that the latter should 

 be collected as soon as possible, as the remains of ancient customs and usages as well as 

 the tribes themselves are fast vanishing. In the territory of the Dominion of Canada the 

 study of the Tsimshian of the interior, of the Tinné near Babine Lake, of the Kootenay, and 

 of the Salish of the interior, is of prime importance for solving the problems under dis- 

 cussion. 



Having thus in vain attempted to define the scope of the necessary preliminary 

 studies, we will consider the cultiirc of the coast tribes somewhat more closely. 



The general impression is, that it is uniform ; but the traveller finds many customs 

 peculiar to one tribe, and not practiced by another. These slight variations are one of the 

 best clews for historical investigations. Among the Kwakiutl, 'for instance, we find a 

 A'ery elaborate system of secret societies, of which onl}' faint traces exist among the Coast 

 Salish and among the Tlingit. Therefore we must suppose that the general culture can 

 be traced back to various sources. We will try to follow up some of these indications. 



First, we will consider the raven legend. The raven plays a very remarkable part 

 in the myths of the Tlingit. He is the benefactor of man — against his will and intent. 

 He is considered the deily, and yet iu the course of events, he is always tricked and 

 fooled. He is sometimes called " the old one," thereby recalling " the old one " of the 

 Algonkin. As much has been written regarding these legends, I hasten to consider their 

 distribution along the coast. 



The Kwakiutl have a great number of legends referring to the raven. One of these, 

 an abstract of which I shall giA^e presently, is particularly interesting. It refers to his 

 origin. This legend originated among the Tsimshian and was later borrowed by the 

 Kwakiutl. It is said that a chief's wife had a child who used to play with another boy 

 of the village. One day the chief's son said to his playfellow, " Let us take the skins of 

 birds and fly to heaven." They did so, and arrived at Aikyatsaiensna'laq. There they 

 found a small pond, near which the house of the deity stood. They were caught by the 

 daughters of the latter, whom they eventually married. The deity, who is called Kants- 

 n'ump (" our father "), tried to kill his sons-in-law. They, however, escaped unhurt. 

 They lived in heaven for a long while, and eventually the deity's daughter gave birth to 

 a child. The latter slipped out of her hands, and fell into the sea, where it was found by 

 a chief, the father of the young man who had ascended to heaven. At first the child 

 would not take any food ; but when, according to the advice of an old man, the stomachs 

 of fish were given to him, he began to eat greedily. He devoured all the provisions that 

 were stored up in the AÙllage, and then said, " Don't you know me ? I am Omeatl " 

 (the raven). Then the legend continues, and describes innumerable adventures that the 

 raven encounters in his wanderings all over the world. 



Evidently this legend is an attempt to reconcile the ideas of the Tsimshian and other 

 southern tribes, Avho worship the sun, with those of the Tlingit, who consider the raven 

 the deity : therefore he is made the son of the deity iu heaven. Among the adventures of 

 the raven we find also the story of how the raven stole the sun. It is important to state 

 that the chief who kept the sun from man in a box had the sun, the moon, and the day- 



